


The Break-Up of the Ice

by Moriavis



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Age Difference, Angst, Consent Issues, Fluffiest noncon I have ever written, Heartbreak, Interracial Relationship, M/M, Magic Made Them Do It, Male Character of Color, Mind/Mood Altering Substances, POV Character of Color, Past Child Abuse, Supporting Character Death, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-14 17:08:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 58,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5751274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moriavis/pseuds/Moriavis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Leonard Snart got something he wanted without taking it, it always ended up too good to be true. </p><p>With Barry Allen, he never saw it coming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Flash. On ice.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Okay, kid. If we're not killed by telepathic gorillas, wizards, or time traveling dictators, we’ll get a coffee.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all the people who have so kindly read through this, especially kisahawklin, dungeonmarm, and lady_krysis. You guys have been so patient and amazing.
> 
> This chapter is rated G, but it will be Explicit in future chapters.

~*~

Strapped into his seat, Leonard took a deep breath, still not entirely used to the acceleration of Waverider. Each time, the slow acceleration, the flip and tug in his belly of momentum, the abrupt jerk of arrival, Gideon's calm, pleasant voice ringing out the date.

“Come on, there's no time to waste. Go! Now!” Hunter vanished through the door of their ship. 

Leonard unlatched the shoulder restraints keeping him in his seat, watching as his teammates moved into position. He flipped the hood of his parka over his head and pulled his gun from his holster, supporting the barrel against his shoulder as he left the ship. His eyes scanned over the scene for several seconds before he went for the nearest cover. 

Their target was the Enchantress, originally from five years in the future. Enchantress was in the air, green eldritch energy flowing from her fingertips and crackling around her, dark hair floating on an invisible wind as she shot energy blast after energy blast at Hall and Saunders. 

He hated this. Meta-humans were one thing. There was a scientific explanation for their powers, how they were created, identifiable circumstances linked to their abilities. Magic, though — magic was just cheating.

There was an explosion that rattled the ground beneath him — Mick’s gun, most likely, striking the shield of magic that had been protecting Enchantress rather inconveniently — and he stepped out of cover, aiming his gun and shooting. 

With Mick on one side and Leonard on the other, with Firestorm attacking from above, Enchantress was very obviously weakening. Leonard might have even considered the mission successful at that point, if not for the crackle of electricity, the blur of a red costume entering the fray. It had taken the Flash thirty-eight seconds. He must have been getting faster.

Leonard could see the moment of connection, could see Enchantress raise her hand, and magic welled out from her palm, sending the Flash flying away from her. The Flash hit the ground hard and skid across the asphalt, coming to rest just steps away from Leonard’s boot. He didn’t spare the Flash a glance, focused on Enchantress, and he watched as she faltered beneath their onslaught, slipping lower and lower out of the air until Lance was able to reach out and take hold of her, cutting off her air until she was unconscious and perfectly docile.

Only when the Enchantress was subdued did Leonard look down at the Flash, who was only just now starting to stir, blinking up at Leonard in confusion. “This is just icing on the cake,” Leonard drawled, and he held out a hand for the Flash to take, just in case he needed assistance standing. He was nice that way.

The Flash continued blinking up at Leonard for another long minute, his pupils dilated in the dim light as he slid his hand into Leonard’s and pulled himself up. “What are you doing here?” The Flash’s voice was shaky and raw and Leonard dropped his hand, turning away to check his gun.

“We’re doing our job,” he said, and after another cursory look, he was satisfied that his gun hadn’t suffered any damage. “You and the Green Arrow were very _encouraging_.” He turned, pinning the Flash with a narrow glare.

“I—” The Flash looked down and cleared his throat. It made Leonard’s mood sour further. “How–how long are you going to be here?”

“It is good to see you, my friend.” Hunter strode over to the two of them, and Leonard took a step back, his mouth twisting in vague annoyance. “We have to go now and secure the Enchantress to her rightful place. I don't know what her appearance in your present will do, or what ripples it'll cause.”

“Oh.” The Flash blinked, hand half-raised, and Leonard pushed up his sunglasses, slipping his gun back into the holster and turning away. “Wait!” Leonard paused, surprised to feel a hand catching on his sleeve, and he turned back, arching an eyebrow in inquiry.

Leonard could feel Hunter's eyes on them, so he turned, giving Hunter a short nod. “It’s cool.” Hunter stared at them a moment longer and hummed for a second before retreating back into their ship. “You’ve got five minutes, kid.”

The Flash cleared his throat and dropped his hand. “I … it’s just been a while.”

Leonard arched an eyebrow. "That's what happens when you're press-ganged into saving the future."

"Right." The Flash shifted again, like he couldn't bear to stand still. "I guess you've been doing a lot. I was just thinking, if you have a chance, maybe we can go for coffee when you come back? Talk about what you've been doing?” The Flash’s eyes flitted back and forth, and Leonard frowned, waiting for the punchline.

They stood in silence for another twenty-five seconds, Leonard staring hard at the Flash while the Flash fidgeted one more time. Leonard smirked. "Right. Good talk, Red. I've got better things to do.”

“No!” The Flash took a deep breath. “Cold, I’m serious.”

Leonard laughed with wry amusement. “Okay, kid. If we're not killed by telepathic gorillas, wizards, or time traveling dictators, we’ll get a coffee.”

The Flash smiled at that, sweet and wide and luminous, and Leonard blinked, caught off guard by how genuine it was.

“Great! That’s–that’s great. I’ll see you around?”

Leonard didn’t know what game that kid was playing, but he shrugged. “Yeah. I'll see you.” Leonard walked into Waverider and shut the door behind him, conscious of the fact that the Flash had stared at him the entire way.

~*~

Three days in 1952 Bulgaria left the team quiet and worn. Hunter and Mick, of all people, seemed to be the only ones in good spirits, and Leonard shrugged off his parka and sank heavily into his seat, wiping sweat from the back of his neck.

"No one will ever believe us," Mick said, automatically taking the seat next to Leonard, and he patted his gun before he slipped it in its holster.

"I can't believe it, and I lived it." Leonard slumped into his seat, his spine popping in three places. "Dinosaurs, Mick."

“Dinosaurs.” Mick agreed, soot on his cheek, his scalp shiny with perspiration. “I fucking love this job.”

"Well," Palmer said brightly from across the cockpit, "I can certainly say my history lessons failed to mention that there were dinosaurs in the twentieth century."

"Because we stopped them," Hunter said easily. "It never happened because we always were the ones to stop it. Paradox."

“All right.” Leonard rubbed a hand over the back of his neck again. “I need a break.”

“I’ll second that.” Saunders inspected her knuckles before giving Hall a venomous glare.

Lance shrugged and spun around in her chair, putting her feet up in the empty chair next to her. “Sounds like the children need a nap.”

“I don’t care what you want to call it,” Leonard said, slow and controlled. “Next stop, I want off the bus.” It had been weeks since he’d spoken to his sister, and he missed her more than he thought he would, missed the air in Central City, the lights and the people.

“We have been working hard,” Hunter agreed, and Leonard shook his head. 

“I’m not asking for permission, Hunter. We need a break. I don’t plan this many _heists_ , and I _like_ heists far more than our misfit toy adventures.”

There wasn't much argument after that, and they each went their separate ways with the agreement that they would meet again to continue their mission in five days. That would be more than enough.

Leonard holed himself up in his apartment for the first day, just sleeping. Fixing temporal paradoxes was exhausting work, and they never seemed to get enough rest. He woke up late in the morning, took a shower, and then made himself a small breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast, calling Lisa after he'd eaten. She didn't answer, not that he had particularly expected her to, and he left a message.

He took his parka to the dry cleaner's and then wandered without a destination in mind, content to walk his city and breathe in the air. He bought himself lunch in his favorite diner and idly cased buildings as he strolled along the street afterward. He wouldn't rob any of them, of course — they simply weren't enough of a challenge. The planning, though, that had always been appealing. 

The sun was starting to set before Leonard slowly made his way back to his apartment, the long walk, period-appropriate food and the atmosphere settling in him. He felt centered again. Calm.

Which was why he wasn't surprised in the least to feel the soft _whoosh_ of air at his side. There was the whiff of something burning when Barry Allen skidded to a stop next to him. His shoulders knotted up again, and Leonard sighed.

"Okay, Red. How'd you know I was here?"

Barry took a moment to kick his shoes against the asphalt, stamping out the sparks burning the soles of his shoes, and then cleared his throat. "Kendra came to visit Cisco."

Leonard frowned at that. "Kendra?"

"Uh." Barry stomped his foot again. "Yeah, she's the— Hawkgirl?"

"I know who she is." Leonard smirked. "We aren't friends, but I _do_ see her every day."

"Right." Barry scuffed his shoe again, and Leonard rolled his eyes, putting one foot in front of the other and continuing his walk. "So … we're both here, and last time, I thought maybe we'd agreed…?"

Leonard turned to look at Barry, who had fallen into step with him without a word. "You're serious about the damned coffee?"

"You weren't?" Barry asked.

Leonard pinned Barry with another look. "Of course. Coffee with my nemesis. Perfectly serious."

Barry snorted and bumped Leonard with his shoulder. "What? You're not my nemesis!"

Leonard stopped and stared at Barry, surprised and very much offended. "Of course I am."

"No," Barry said, shaking his head as if he couldn't see Leonard glaring at him. "Yeah, no way, no." Leonard crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Barry again. Barry's eyes widened, and he raised his hands. "Okay, you're like, my second nemesis?" He grinned. "How about my _favorite_ nemesis?"

That wasn't particularly satisfying, and Leonard shook his head, his frown deepening.

"Come on," Barry said, "we'll go to Jitters and have coffee and I'll tell you all about my _least_ favorite nemesis."

"I assume you're going to keep following me until I shoot you," Leonard said, his voice dry and uninterested.

Barry nodded, his smile wide and fast and far too sweet. "Or you can just come with me. No death necessary."

Leonard was oddly charmed by Barry's persistence despite himself, and the draw of learning more about Barry Allen — about the Flash — from his own mouth was intensely appealing. He gave a short nod and let his arms fall to his sides. "All right, then. Tell me everything." 

They turned in the direction of the coffee shop, and Barry ran a hand through his hair. During their conversation, the sun had set, and their path was lit by the street lamps lining the roads. Barry took a deep breath and started talking about Harrison Wells, and it clicked in Leonard's brain. Barry had talked about something happening with the particle accelerator when he tried to move the meta humans from STAR Labs, right before Leonard had betrayed him and let all the metas loose.

Leonard liked seeing the big picture.

"So he was a meta-human," Leonard mused.

"A speedster, like me," Barry continued. "He went back in time and killed my mother, and then framed my father, and"—Barry paused and bowed his head for a minute before he took a breath to continue—"he was responsible for the first accident, the one that gave me and the other Rogues powers. He was … Well, he was responsible for everything. And a friend died to take him down."

Leonard watched Barry for a moment and then pulled open the door of Jitters to let Barry in first. Lisa was the only one he cared about that deeply, but he could sympathize with the situation. "That sucks, kid."

"Yeah." Barry huffed a breath and looked at the coffee menu. Leonard supposed it helped clear his head. "What do you want?"

"Coffee's on me today, Red," Leonard said, deciding in a second that if the kid's had that shitty a year, the least he can do is buy the kid a drink.

"Yeah?" Barry asked, surprise evident in his face, in his large-pupiled eyes. He turned to the barista and ordered a decaf.

Leonard smirked at that and then leaned in to grin at the barista. "I want a Flash. On ice." He could see Barry at his left, rolling his eyes. Leonard paid, pulling a couple of bills out of his wallet. He put the few dollars extra into the tip jar, and turned to see Barry watching at him. "What?"

"You tip," Barry said, his forehead furrowing a little.

Leonard arched an eyebrow. "You don't?"

"No, I mean, yes, of course I do," Barry stammered. "I was just surprised that _you_ do."

"I do what I do because it's fun. Leaving a tip is common decency." Leonard waved Barry away. "Find us a seat. I'll get the coffee."

Barry nodded and then worked his way through the crowd of customers with the patience of someone who was used to the crush, and Leonard followed as soon as he had their order, walking with a confidence that made the crowd part around him. Barry found them a high table in the corner, and Leonard nodded in approval, taking the seat that Barry had left him, his back to the wall.

Leonard took a drink of his coffee and licked his lips at the bitterness. "They weren't kidding about the espresso."

Barry laughed, curling his hand around his own mug. "Jitters isn't Starbucks. I come here for real coffee."

"And then drink decaf," Leonard said, nodding at Barry's cup.

Barry shrugged. "Caffeine is like alcohol for me. I metabolize it so fast that it doesn't really do anything, so I mostly just drink it for the taste."

"One thing," Leonard said, mulling over their meeting, "how did you find me?"

"Oh." Barry blushed and cleared his throat. "ImayhaverundowneverystreetuntilIfoundyou."

Leonard looked back up and shook his head, holding up a hand. "Try that one more time."

"I _may_ have run down every street I came to until I found you." Barry's jaw firmed, chin up like Leonard was going to argue with him.

"Huh. That's what I thought." Leonard nodded, his suspicion confirmed, and sipped his coffee before he resumed their original conversation. "So. Wells is dead."

"That one is?" Barry said, his shoulders relaxing, and the lilt of his voice made it a question. Leonard pinned Barry with another look, waiting for an explanation. "There may be other dimensions. And I just may have met another Flash and another Harrison Wells."

Leonard blinked and raised his cup for a long drink of coffee. "That makes sense."

"It does?"

Leonard nodded. "I've seen some impossible things with the other _legends_ on that ship." He gave a casual wave in the general direction of Waverider.

"How is that going, anyway? I mean, do you get along with anyone?" Barry asked.

Leonard shrugged. "I get along with Mick, but he knows how to follow my orders. The others just get in my way."

"Can you tell me about any of it?" 

"I will _absolutely_ tell you about it," Leonard said, and leaned closer, one arm resting on the table as he told Barry about their latest mission, about the goddamned dinosaurs, because he _still_ wasn't over it yet. There were very few people Leonard could talk to about the things that he was experiencing, and he simply couldn't resist the offer to talk about himself, especially when Barry was so obviously interested.

Coffee with Barry was easier than Leonard had expected it to be, and they traded stories about some of the weird things they'd seen. Barry actually seemed curious about what Leonard and his team were doing, as long as it didn't involve stealing anything or murdering anyone, and Leonard had more than enough stories to fill the awkward catching up session.

"Barry?" Barry and Leonard leaned back, Barry turning to look at the woman who'd spoken. It was Detective Spivot, Joe West's partner. "I thought that was you!" She had a pretty smile, and she leaned over Barry, pressing a kiss to Barry's upturned mouth. That was Leonard's cue to leave. He turned his attention to his watch and was startled to realize an hour had passed while he and Barry talked, and his coffee was a watered down mess. 

He downed the rest of it in one long gulp and then set the cup on the table between them. "I'm going to take off."

"What?" Barry asked in alarm. "I mean, it's only Patty, she won't—"

Leonard rose to his feet, and Detective Spivot narrowed her eyes at him before she stepped back and fumbled for the gun on her belt. "Snart! You're Leonard Snart!"

"Guilty," Leonard said with a smirk. He offered her his empty seat. "Don't make a scene, Detective Spivot. I've had a pleasant day, and I'd hate for you to ruin it."

Her jaw firmed, jutting out indignantly, but she left her gun in its holster, eying his offered seat like it was a trap.

Leonard shrugged. "I agreed to a cup of coffee. I'm finished."

"You could always get another cup," Barry said, his voice small, and Leonard didn't miss how Detective Spivot's eyes widened in shock, flicking back and forth between him and Barry.

"That wasn't our agreement," Leonard chided Barry, amused at the very idea that the Flash seemed to actually want his company. "Have a good night, Barry, Detective Spivot." 

Leonard took the opportunity to turn on his heel and walk away, heard the scrape of a chair, and then he was out in the open air, hoping to get a clear head himself.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't originally planned to post this in chapters, but Legends of Tomorrow premieres on Thursday, and I know my characterization is going to be shot to hell. I wanted to get at least a little of this out before then. I also haven't seen any of Arrow, so my voices for Sara and Ray are probably way off. My apologies, and I hope you enjoy this.


	2. Cold and Glider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lisa pointed at Barry and Leonard. "See, Lenny, this right here, this jailbait proto-cop bullshit? That's why you can't get laid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to dungeonmarm and lady_krysis for the beta!

~*~

Leonard heard a key turn in the lock and casually drew his cold gun from its holster, aiming it at the door as he continued to stir cream into his coffee. Lisa slid inside, closing the door behind her, and Leonard took his finger off the trigger.

"Jumpy, are we?" she asked, sauntering over to Leonard's side and stealing his mug. She took a sip and wrinkled her nose, setting the mug down on the counter again. "You called me yesterday. It's been a while."

"Yes," Leonard agreed, giving her a look. He put his gun back into place and took his coffee back. "I was angry."

"Angry?" Lisa raised her eyebrows and planted a hand on her hip. "At _me_?"

"Our father put a bomb in your head," Leonard said. "You were sloppy, so yes. I was angry at _you_."

"Aww, Lenny, I can't believe you're still thinking about that." Lisa laughed. "Your little superhero saved me and everything."

Leonard heaved a sigh at that and rubbed a hand over his face. He raised his coffee mug to his lips, and it made him think of the previous night. He pushed the thought away and took a swallow, appreciating the heat.

"You look tired," Lisa said, her voice soft and concerned. "Have you been getting enough sleep? It's bad enough you can't tell me where you've been."

Leonard shook his head. "I didn't call you here because of my problems. I called because I wanted to see you."

Lisa laughed at that. "You old softie. Okay, I want to show you the thing I picked up yesterday."

"Let me guess," Leonard said, going to the closet and shrugging on a jacket, "it's another painting you're not going to be able to sell."

"I don't steal those to sell them, Lenny." Lisa grabbed his helmet from the closet before she headed toward the door. "I just want to make our apartments look nice. Besides, you've never complained about that Monet."

"I'm cautious, Sis, not ungrateful." Leonard paused to stare at the painting on his wall. "Besides, it was your first score." 

"You're so sentimental," Lisa teased, and Leonard shook his head, ushering her out of his apartment.

~*~

As he suspected, Lisa's score was another painting, a Rothko in golds, and he couldn't help but laugh. "And you mock me for my cold puns."

"You were doing puns long before you got yourself a fancy gun," Lisa pointed out. "Cisco giving you that name just let you explore your inner nerd."

"I'm sensing some hypocrisy there, Golden Glider," he said, giving the painting another pointed look.

"I learned from the best." Lisa then led him further into her art storage, to show him other things she'd snagged while he was gone. "Did you hear they're lending the Star of Africa to the Central City museum?"

Leonard sighed and rubbed a hand over his head. "Hn. That would have been fun, too."

"And instead, you're stuck on some covert secret mission." Lisa pouted, but even that didn't hide the curve of her amusement. "Maybe I'll steal it for you. Make it your next birthday present."

"Stay safe, Lisa," Leonard warned. "I won't be able to keep you out of trouble if you're reckless."

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Yes, Len. I _understand_." 

Leonard nodded and pulled her in for a short hug, and he memorized her smile, the huff of her annoyance. When they were tired of looking through Lisa's stash, they picked up Leonard's dry cleaning, which reminded Lisa that she needed to do hers. They put her laundry in Leonard's machine, popped open a couple of beers, and watched television. 

It was mundane. It was boring. It was perfect.

~*~

For old time's sake, they ended up at The Motorcar for dinner. Lisa wanted a booth close to the window so she could look at the CCPD across the street.

"Don't give me that look, Lenny," Lisa said, peering at him over the edge of her menu. 

Leonard hummed and set his menu aside. "You're losing your cool again, Sis."

"Cisco's worth losing my cool over every once in awhile." Lisa smiled and looked out the window, toward the CCPD. "Sometimes he visits a friend here and helps the police. He gets so excited about that kind of thing."

"I don't care." Leonard set aside his menu and stared at his sister. "I'm here for the meatloaf."

"Don't be such a sad sack." She perked up after a second, and Leonard followed her gaze to see Cisco Ramon talking animatedly to— Well. If it wasn't Barry Allen, his new best friend. 

Lisa waved at them from the window, and Leonard felt an itch for his gun. He could hear Cisco and Barry talking the moment they stepped inside the diner. He could judge how close they were just by looking at Lisa, who grew more and more smug with every second. "Hello, _Cisco_."

"Lisa." Cisco shifted from foot to foot as he looked from Lisa to Leonard. "Snart."

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Barry asked cheerfully, nudging Cisco closer to Lisa so he could look at Leonard. "I didn't know you came here."

"I didn't tell you," Leonard said pointedly, ignoring the way Lisa's eyebrows were climbing.

"Who is _this_?" Lisa asked, offering Barry her hand to shake as she looked at him, eyes sharp and assessing.

"Uh—" Cisco's eyes darted between Lisa and Barry, settling on Leonard with a sort of resigned terror. "Barry Allen."

"Nice to meet you," Barry said, a grin pulling at the corner of his mouth as he shook her hand.

"And how do you know my brother?" Lisa asked.

"Chill out," Leonard grumbled, and Barry fixed that smile on him instead. "He's CCPD. One of the grunts."

"Forensic scientist," Barry corrected, and he nudged Leonard over, sitting in the empty seat on Leonard's side of the booth. 

"Barry—" Cisco hissed, but Lisa took the opportunity to uncoil from her side, grabbing Cisco's arm and tugging him into the space next to her.

"No, Cisco, I like how your friend thinks." Lisa unleashed her most charming smile. "Have dinner with us. We'll be on our best behavior."

"Hey," Barry said, turning back to Leonard and ignoring the increasingly desperate looks Cisco was sending his way, "I wanted to apologize for last night."

"Don't worry about it." This was, quite possibly, the worst place to have any sort of conversation, with Cisco looking like he was about to piss himself and his sister looking increasingly like a cat about to toy with a mouse.

"What happened last night?" Lisa asked.

"We had coff—"

"None of your business, train wreck," Leonard interrupted. Lisa smirked and raised her hands in surrender before she turned her attention back to Cisco.

"I'm sorry," Barry whispered. "Is it a secret or something?"

"I don't necessarily talk to my sister about my personal business," Leonard responded in undertone, still watching Lisa, who slid her menu over to Cisco and played with Cisco's hair as she offered recommendations.

"Oh." Barry caught Cisco's eyes and he gave another small smile, shrugging as he reached around Leonard to take the other menu.

" _Dude_ ," Cisco hissed, leaning across the table, "are we seriously on a double date with Captain Cold and Golden Glider?"

"I was wondering if he knew," Lisa said, propping her chin on her palm as she looked Barry over. "Is my big brother a cradle robber?"

"I'm an adult!" Barry frowned at Lisa and then looked at Cisco like he expected his friend to back him up.

"We aren't dating, Lisa. Drop it." The waitress finally came for their orders, and when she left, the table fell into a strange tension. 

Leonard turned in his seat, putting his back to the corner of the booth so he could watch Barry, Cisco, and Lisa. Cisco still looked vaguely terrified, but the promise of food seemed to relax him, and Lisa was always in her element when she had someone she liked to play with nearby. Barry had turned a little in his seat as well, mirroring Leonard's position, and Leonard remembered how surprisingly cozy their previous meeting was, how easy it had been to avoid The Flash and Captain Cold and talk to each other like normal people. 

"You like it here?" Barry asked, keeping their conversation mostly private, and Leonard could appreciate his discretion, even though his sister had the ears of a bat and was listening to everything they were saying.

"It's familiar," Leonard responded, short and to the point. "And it has a good view of the police station."

Barry laughed. "Joe would be so mad if he knew you were over here."

"Joe?" Lisa asked.

"His foster father," Leonard said, and he didn't miss the pleased smile that crossed Barry's face when he answered. "Detective West."

"Right," Lisa said, and she pointed at the two of them. "See, Lenny, this right here, this jailbait proto-cop bullshit? That's why you can't get laid."

Barry snorted at that. "Please. Like he can't get laid. I mean"—Barry gestured at Leonard, either oblivious or simply ignoring the way Cisco's mouth opened, slow and surprised—"look at him."

Leonard smiled at that, meeting Barry's eyes. "Thanks, kid."

"You're welcome," Barry said, and then he turned his attention back to Lisa. "Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of reasons to worry about him, but I'm pretty sure sex isn't on that list."

"Are we speaking from experience, Barry?" Lisa teased.

Barry's forehead furrowed. "No. We already said we weren't dating."

"How sweet." Lisa was interrupted by the arrival of their meals, and Leonard was struck again by how surreal the whole situation was. The Flash and his little tech friend were willingly having dinner with two criminals, and Leonard was strangely sympathetic to Cisco, who looked like he was alternating between wanting to say too much and holding his breath. "So, as I was saying before we were interrupted," Lisa continued, "what's dating have to do with sex?"

Barry looked up from his plate, half his burger eaten in two large bites. "I'm not really one for hook ups."

"He really isn't," Cisco managed to say, shooting a look between Leonard and Barry again. "Besides, Barry has a girlfriend."

"Um—" Barry coughed discreetly into his fist and had a sip of his water. "Not anymore, I don't." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Apparently, having coffee with a known criminal was on Patty's 'no' list."

"Dude." Cisco shook his head. "That sucks. I know you liked her."

Barry shrugged. "It's not that bad. I mean, it wasn't going to work out anyway—she's my dad's partner. It wasn't a great idea in the first place."

"Hmm." Lisa speared a piece of chicken with her fork. "So, Barry, what do you think about guys?"

Barry's eyes flickered from her to Leonard and back again, and Leonard shook his head. "Eat your dinner, Lise. He isn't your personal business, either."

"Mmhmm." Lisa gave him a look, warning him that whatever point she was trying to make wasn't anywhere near done, but then she turned her attention back to Cisco as they ate. Leonard still couldn't relax, but it was better than nothing.

He got the check without any questions, paid, and then rose to his feet. "As charming as this is, I'm going to call it a night."

"Me, too," Barry agreed immediately, finishing the last of his fries.

Leonard shot Barry another narrow look, and then he took a slow, deep breath. "Okay, Red. Up. We're going to have a private conversation about boundaries."

Cisco bolted from his seat, almost falling over trying to escape Lisa. He smiled too brightly, awkward and uncomfortable. "I just remembered that Caitlin wanted us to drop by STAR Labs to talk about some tests. We should— Barry, come on."

"You go ahead," Barry said, climbing out of the booth. "I'll meet you there."

Leonard looked back at Lisa. "It was good to see you. It'll be a while before I'm in town again."

"It always is." Lisa slid out of the booth and pressed a kiss to Cisco's cheek. "And it was _very_ nice to see you again, Cisco."

"Right," Cisco scoffed, and then he hesitated. "Well, actually, today wasn't too bad, but that doesn't mean I've forgiven you."

"It's more fun that way." Lisa winked at Cisco, and then gave Barry another measuring look. "It was nice to meet you."

"You too," Barry said.

Lisa smiled in a way that wasn't genuine in the least, and when she brushed past Leonard to get to the door, she whispered, "I'll get a cab. We're not done talking about this creepy thing you've got going on here."

"For the last time—" Leonard shook his head and took a deep breath, held it. He counted the number of footsteps it took for Lisa to reach the door. When he heard the tinkle of the entrance bell, the soft _thunk_ of the door fitting back into the doorjamb, he opened his eyes again and pinned Barry with a glare. "Cisco, get a cab. Scarlet and I are going to be having a talk."

"Bus, actually, but, uh." Cisco cringed when both Leonard and Barry turned to look at him. "Right, yeah, uh, right," he stammered, and swallowed. "Thanks for dinner? And bye, Barry, call me when you're done, okay? Okay, great."

Once Cisco left, Leonard jerked his head toward the door and started walking. He was sure Barry was going to follow, and he didn't particularly want to have this conversation in a diner, or anywhere Lisa or Cisco might see them.

Leonard was a little surprised when Barry kept pace with him and stayed quiet, only looking at Leonard occasionally from the corner of his eye. Only when they reached Turtle Park did Leonard decide they had gone far enough. It was late enough that there weren't many people there, but early enough that the police wouldn't be patrolling. 

"What was that all about?"

Barry ran a hand through his hair. "I… don't really know."

The only way to talk about this was to be blunt, so Leonard faced Barry head on and said, "I'm gay, Barry. And I don't appreciate being played with. You're a hero. You need to be better than that."

"That's not what—" Barry flushed. "That's not what's going on."

"I know what's going on." Leonard looked away from Barry, toward an empty swing set, the seats swaying in the breeze. He only had himself to blame, really. Mick was right when he said Leonard was obsessed with The Flash, but Leonard had never been very good at keeping his curiosity at bay, and he _needed_ to know everything about Barry Allen like he needed to breathe. "You're setting us both up for a fall, kid, and I'm not going to play into this predatory queer fantasy you're creating."

"My—" Barry sputtered. "Predatory what? Snart, that's not what's going on."

"Then what is it?" Leonard crossed his arms over his chest and waited, but Barry opened and shut his mouth twice without any words. "A coffee date last night. Dinner with my sister today. If it's _not_ that, then enlighten me."

Barry raked his hands through his hair again. "I don't _know_ what it is, okay? All I know is I can't stop thinking about you, and coffee last night was _nice_ and you're not robbing whoever catches your eye, and that's _something_ , and I just—"

Leonard barely had time to process the words, the way Barry's jaw went hard and determined before he jerked Leonard forward, off balance. Barry's hands were clenched into fists, Leonard's shirt pulled tight in Barry's grip. Leonard caught himself by grabbing onto Barry's biceps and Barry kissed him hard, his breath hot against Leonard's face. Leonard's head spun for a second before he pushed Barry back, just far enough to catch his breath again.

“Kid—”

“Barry.” Barry’s cheeks were flushed, the hazel of his eyes a sliver around his large pupils, and when Barry licked his lips, Leonard found himself repeating the motion.

“Barry.” Leonard planted his hand in the center of Barry’s chest and pushed, though not very hard, not enough to hurt. “This is flattering, really, but it isn’t happening. You’re too young for me, and I'm not interested in being your experiment.”

“I’m old enough to know what I want,” Barry said, his voice soft and firm. He pushed his way back into Leonard’s space, pressing a kiss to Leonard’s temple, his cheek, his mouth, and Leonard, God help him, wasn't _that_ good of a person. Wasn't a good person at all, but even he had lines he wouldn't cross.

“There’s something different about you, Red.” Leonard pushed Barry back, ignoring the way Barry whined in frustration, ignoring how very much he liked that sound.

“There’s nothing different,” Barry insisted. “I’m just—”

“Don’t try to con a con man, Barry. It doesn’t work.” 

Barry made another frustrated noise and pulled away, walking to the bench behind him and circling around to face Leonard again. "I'm not trying to con you! Snart— Leonard— _Len_ , all I'm trying to do is get to know you better. I feel _good_ when I'm with you. That's what this is about, okay? And, I mean, I've _seen_ the way you look at me, you can't tell me you're not at least a little interested—"

"We aren't talking about _me_." Leonard realized he was starting to raise his voice. He took a deep breath, counted to ten in his head, released it. When he spoke again, his voice was calm. "I am literally travelling through time. You're still fighting Zoom. Neither of us need the distraction."

"It's not a distraction," Barry said, his mouth pulling tight and sullen. "It's the way I feel. You left last night, and I couldn't follow, and it made me feel terrible."

"Jesus Christ." Leonard turned away from Barry and rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm going back into the timestream tomorrow." It was a lie, but Leonard knew when to cut his losses and run.

"So?" Barry asked. "You're in a time machine. You could come back three minutes after you leave." Leonard exhaled when Barry rested his hands on Leonard's shoulders and turned him around so they were facing each other again. "I'm not hearing a no." Barry tilted his head and crossed the space between them, kissing Leonard again, so soft that it made something in Leonard twist uncomfortably.

He turned his head away.

"I need to think about this." It was the coward's way out, more damning than saying 'no' would have been, but if Barry felt that strongly, then Leonard needed time to think.

"Right." Barry cleared his throat, hands flexing on Leonard's shoulders before he dropped them to his sides. "Well. Don't take too long. Please." 

Then Barry was gone, lightning flickering on the ground for a moment.

Leonard rubbed a hand over his face again. "What the hell am I doing?" But there wasn't anyone else there to give him an answer.

He left the park, seeing no reason to overstay his welcome, and made his way back to The Motorcar, where his motorcycle was waiting. It was a quick drive to his apartment, but even there, he couldn't settle. It was too warm. He forced himself to sit on the couch, wrestling the urge to pace under control. He had always enjoyed distracting the Flash, and it was disconcerting now to realize the Flash had the same power over him.

There was only one thing for it.

Leonard got up, packed, pulled on his parka and holstered his cold gun. There was something reassuring about putting on a costume, something fun and anticipatory about playing a role. He went to the Waverider a day early, and wasn't surprised in the least to discover he wasn't the first.

"Told ya he wouldn't make it all five days," Mick said, and Lance slapped a twenty onto his open palm.

"I thought he wouldn't be back," she admitted.

"I'm not the type to get cold feet," Leonard said, and made his way to his room. Once the door was closed and locked, Leonard dropped his bag of clothing and sat on the edge of the bed, running a hand over his head. "Gideon, reduce temperature." The temperature dropped immediately, but it wasn't cold enough. "Again." He took a deep breath of the cold air, exhaling fog from his lips. This was where he belonged. He was Cold, and he wasn't going to let an upstart superhero make him think any differently.

~*~


	3. Working in Absolutes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Dinner and a movie?" Barry teased. "That doesn't sound like your kind of thing."
> 
> "It isn't," Leonard agreed. "But it's your kind of thing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to lady_krysis and dungeonmarm for beta duties. This thing would be a mess without them.
> 
> There's mentions of child abuse in this chapter, but it's not explored in depth.

~*~

"Central City. August 1982," Gideon informed everyone as they left the temporal wormhole.

Hunter activated the landing sequence, and the ship shuddered around them as they touched down. Waverider generated new identification and currency for them, and then the hatch slid open. It was a balmy afternoon, hot and moist, and Leonard found himself ditching his parka in the ship moments after the doors opened.

"This is my kind of weather." Mick gave Leonard a fierce grin, and Leonard fought the urge to grimace at the way his shirt stuck to him.

"Follow my lead," Leonard reminded Mick as they trailed out of Waverider. "Don't set anything on fire. Unless I tell you to."

"I got it," Mick said, and the way his smile gave way to a more familiar scowl made Leonard grit his teeth.

"We're looking for the Staff of Arion," Hunter said as Waverider faded into camouflage beside them. "And I must reiterate. Every action you take must be careful. Any time we jump within your lifetimes, we run the risk of changing something irrevocable."

"Every time," Leonard heard Jax mutter in the background. "Does he have to say that _every_ time?"

"I thought that was why we were here," Leonard drawled, "to change time. That's certainly what I signed up for."

Hunter gave Leonard a disapproving look. Leonard smirked in response. "Every change we make to the timestream must be delicate. We change too much, if we're not careful enough, and it will cause a ripple. I guarantee that whatever comes out of that will be worse than what had originally been planned."

"We're changing time every mission," Saunders pointed out. "We're already messing with things out of our league."

"Out of _your_ league, perhaps," Hall said snidely as he passed her.

"I've come to terms with the fact that I may never see my real timeline again," Hunter said. "And I believe the rest of you are strong enough to face the consequences of our mission."

"That's a thrilling vote of confidence." Leonard turned away from Hunter and looked around to establish his position. "Mick and I will start at the museum. Just to knock the obvious places out of the way." Hunter raised a hand, and Leonard gave him a narrow glare. "You're not leaving us behind. It's _boring_. I'm _bored_."

"If it's magic, Kendra and I may be able to sense it," Hall said, and Hunter turned away from Leonard to stall them.

"If we run into Vandal Savage here, you could be in danger." Hunter shook his head. "It would be best if you focused on reconnaissance. Dr. Stein will go to the museum with Jax and Sara. Ray, you stay with Cold and Heatwave. Keep an eye on them."

"Of course." Leonard shrugged, refusing to show Hunter how much having a babysitter annoyed him. "Mick would probably listen to the White Canary, if you'd like to make things a little more interesting."

"I like women who can kick my ass." Mick grinned at Lance, who flexed her fingers before curling them into a fist. She arched her eyebrow.

"This woman is about to kick your ass on principle," she warned, and Mick raised his hands as he stepped away, his smile growing less friendly.

"Children," Leonard teased, "don't make us go back to the timeship."

"I don't know if we're doing a democracy thing, or just listening to Rip," Palmer said, "but I really don't think the three of you should be let loose on the city."

Leonard folded his arms over his chest again. "I'm not particularly interested in what you have to say."

"This is ridiculous." Saunders pushed between them and set her hands on her hips. "I'll go with Leonard and Mick. Ray can keep Carter under wraps, and Sara, Dr. Stein and Jax can go with Rip for our preliminary investigation."

Leonard paused for a moment, turning the idea over in his mind. Saunders was strong and didn't take anyone's crap. He could respect that. "All right," he agreed, ignoring the baffled surprise on Palmer's face. "At least Saunders isn't afraid to use our names."

"Kendra," she corrected. "If we're going to be a team, we should start trusting each other."

Leonard considered that. He had never particularly cared to be on a team and certainly didn't like the fact that he wasn't in charge, but he didn't see why he couldn't give a concession or two. "Kendra it is."

"Good." Kendra turned to Mick and jabbed a finger at his chest. "And you. Don't think I won't kick your butt the moment you step out of line, Mick."

Mick shuffled in place for an awkward second, and nodded, even though he reached down and patted his holster. "Yeah, I get it. I'm on a leash."

Hunter looked at the time, and then up at the sky. "We'll meet back here at eight. Use your communicator if you find something." 

With that, they split up, and Leonard started down the street, Mick and Kendra following after him.

"We've been cut off from the museums," Kendra said, "do you have any other ideas?"

"Maybe." Kendra stared at Leonard expectantly until he continued. "It's possible that we aren't the only ones after the staff. Hunter tends to be predictable." Leonard cut his eyes to the side to meet Kendra's eyes for a moment. "My grandfather always took me to a diner near the CCPD. It hasn't moved in thirty years. We'll be able to listen to the police broadband for any unusual activity."

"That's... actually a good idea," Kendra agreed, surprise evident in her voice.

"There's a reason Snart is the leader of the Rogues," Mick said. "Just because Hunter only uses us to shoot things doesn't mean we couldn't do more."

"Have you ever thought that maybe we would trust you more if you hadn't tried to immediately stage a coup?" Kendra asked.

Leonard shrugged and fought the urge to pick at his shirt, which was sticking to him even worse out in the sunlight. He hated summer. "I saw an opportunity. They don't always work out."

"Right," Kendra said. "And you're only here because the Flash made you. We've heard it all before."

Once they were far enough from the Waverider to keep its location secure, Leonard raised a hand to flag down a taxi. With Kendra in the cab with them, they were less intimidating to the driver, and Kendra kept up a friendly conversation until they reached The Motorcar, where Leonard paid the tab and exited the vehicle without a word. The diner looked and _smelled_ right, and Leonard took a breath, allowing his shoulders to relax. Walking into that place in 1982 made all of the differences in 2016 stand out in stark comparison, the strange drift that happened in time, so slow that Leonard had never really noticed. He noticed it now.

The three of them were seated after a wait, having come in during the dinner rush, and Leonard took the opportunity to request seats in one of the booths, close to the police scanner.

"You're very comfortable here, aren't you?" Kendra asked, and Leonard smiled, a sharp, thin twist of his mouth.

"They have air conditioning," he deadpanned. "I like the cold."

Kendra raised her hands, her expression twisting in annoyance. "Fine, you don't have to talk."

"We're not looking for friends," Mick interjected, and Leonard's smile became more genuine. He bumped Mick's shoulder with his own a little in solidarity. 

They were brought to their booth, and Leonard took his normal spot, Mick directly across from him. Kendra took the seat next to Mick, and for a moment, Leonard's skin prickled with goosebumps, a flash of deja vu hitting him. It wouldn't have surprised him if Barry had appeared to make everything twenty times more awkward, but... it was 1982. Barry Allen hadn't even been born yet. 

Leonard ran a hand over his face. He took a slow breath. He most certainly did not think of the way Barry had kissed him in the park. He needed a drink.

When Leonard looked across the table again, Kendra was concerned — she seemed to fluctuate between concern and haughtiness — but she didn't say anything. Thankfully, the waitress came with their menus before Leonard had more than a second to experience gratitude, and he hid behind that for a few more minutes, letting the rhythm of the diner sooth him again — the drumbeat of a kid's heels hitting his booth seat like a heartbeat, the smell of bacon and grease in the air, the crackle of the police scanner as they called their codes back and forth.

Leonard killed time by teaching Kendra what the codes stood for, much like his grandfather had for him when he was younger, and it was that familiarity that caught him off guard. Someone from the booth next to them got up and headed toward the restroom — Leonard looked up, cataloging the movement, as he usually did — only to freeze when he saw his grandfather, the lines of his face, blue eyes and salt-and-pepper hair. He passed by without any recognition, and Leonard set his fork down. 

"I shouldn't have brought us here."

Kendra and Mick went on alert, casing the diner, and if it were any other time, Leonard would have been impressed by the immediacy of their response. As it was, he felt a mix of nervousness and anxiety, which were two things he rarely felt anymore. He shouldn't have let his familiarity draw him back.

The thump of heels hitting a booth silenced, and a little boy peeked out from the booth his grandfather had left. The boy was thin and gangly, a bruise staining his cheek. Leonard watched with an unfamiliar dread as the child slid out of the booth, shifty and quick, and headed toward the door.

Leonard didn't remember trying to run away from the diner.

"Kendra, get our check," Leonard said, and he followed the kid, wondering if he was about to cause one of those ripples that Hunter was always warning them about. He was never one for following the rules.

Leonard's younger self seemed in the middle of a hard decision when he came upon him outside. There was the narrow alley between The Motorcar and a small clothing store, and there was also the terrifying presence of the police station across the street, the wide road that he could cross by himself.

"Hey, kid," Leonard said, voice gentle, and he ached at the startled way his younger self jumped and spun around. Leonard raised his hands and crouched down next to him. "You look lost."

"I'm not," the younger Leonard insisted petulantly.

"You're that detective's son, right?" Leonard hated the way the mention of his father made his younger self cringe, and for a moment, he felt the deep satisfaction of knowing he'd killed that bastard. Leonard reached out and touched the boy's bruised cheek. "He did that, didn't he?" He got a slow nod and dropped his hand. "I'm going to tell you a secret." Leonard heard the door of the diner jingle open, but he didn't break eye contact with the child he'd been. "You're going to hate every second of being his son. You'll want to run away, just like you wanted to do today. But I can promise you: in four years, someone's going to enter your life, and she's going to make everything worth it." 

The younger Leonard fidgeted in place for a second and bit his lip.

"You should go back inside," Leonard said, and it was alien, the gentleness he was trying to emulate. "You'll scare your grandfather."

That seemed to be enough to encourage the younger Leonard into movement, and he headed haltingly into motion, pausing before the door. He hesitated as though he wanted to say something, but went inside without another word.

Leonard stood and watched, waiting until the boy was back in the diner before turning to look at Kendra and Mick. "How much did you hear?"

"Pretty much everything," Mick said, shrugging, and then the corner of his mouth tilted into a smile. "I'm gonna tell Lisa what you just told that kid."

"She already knows," Leonard said, and he turned on his heel, walking away from the diner so they would be a little less conspicuous. "We should go to the courthouse while it's open and try to get into the records."

"Leonard," Kendra said, "what you did there... What if it causes—"

"I'll go and fix it," Leonard said. "That's why we have a time machine." He rolled his shoulders and tried to respond again, a little more carefully. "I don't remember trying to run away from the diner."

"Who cares?" Mick asked, and Leonard felt a deep appreciation for his partner, surprised by the well of relief that Mick's words gave him. "When can I shoot something?"

The opportunity came sooner rather than later, their communicators coming to life. "Dr. Stein and I have the Staff," Hunter said. "Everyone, meet at the museum. I fear that we aren't the only ones who have discovered its location."

"We'll need to get there fast," Kendra said, and she opened her arms wide, looking expectantly at Leonard and Mick.

"I hate this part," Leonard muttered.

"I _love_ this part!" Mick said, and they both stepped close. 

Kendra curled one arm around Leonard and the other around Mick, and then her wings unfurled, giving Leonard a second of warning before they were flying, her wings beating powerfully against the current of the air, the only thing between Leonard and a long fall to his death the Nth metal that gave Kendra her strength.

When they arrived at the museum, the clear sound of a battle greeted them. "Finally!" Mick shouted in delight, and he pulled his heat gun as he ran into the fray. Leonard shook his head and unholstered his own gun as he followed.

~*~

After a long battle with a squad from the League of Assassins, they returned to the Waverider, exhausted but triumphant. Hunter locked the Staff of Arion with the other relics they'd managed to rescue from Savage's grasp, and reviewed the chronometer, making some notes. "It's rediscovered by a magical acolyte in 1998," he said, and programmed the time of release into the Waverider's computers.

Kendra gave Leonard a look, and he rolled his eyes, safely hidden behind his goggles. "I ran into my younger self today," he said. "Is that causing any trouble?"

Hunter frowned at Leonard and turned back to his terminal. "No," he said slowly, "nothing that reads terribly different from your past, but there seems to be some sort of temporal flux in your present."

Leonard folded his arms over his chest. "I'm traveling through time. We're all in temporal flux, if you think about it."

Hunter hummed to himself and shook his head. "We can't pinpoint the exact moment of change. I'll have Waverider maintain surveillance for the time being."

"We'll figure it out," Lance said. They strapped into their seats until they successfully crossed the temporal wormhole threshold. She unbuckled her belt, waving a dismissive hand as she headed toward her quarters. "I'm going to get cleaned up."

Leonard grabbed his parka from his chair and stalked to his own quarters. He showered and was about to lay down to try and get some rest when a shudder went throughout the ship. He flung out a hand against the wall to catch himself, and then bolted to his feet, making his way back to the cockpit. 

"What the hell is going on?" Jackson asked, stumbling as another shudder rocked the ship. Hall caught him by the arm and helped him upright.

"The temporal wormhole we were traveling through destabilized," Hunter said. "We must land for repairs."

"Are we able to open a new corridor?" Palmer asked, peering at the sensors. 

Leonard sank into a chair and rubbed a hand over his head. Lance cocked out her hip and leaned against the table next to him. "You're a genius, aren't you? You could help them figure this out."

"I wouldn't say 'genius.'" Leonard's eyes flicked to her and away again. "Besides, I'm a villain. They've made it clear they don't need or value my assistance."

"Has anyone ever told you that you hold onto grudges worse than I do?" Lance shook her head.

Leonard smirked. "You'd be the first." He watched as Dr. Stein joined the other two at the console, pointing out several possible landing times.

"Strap in, everyone," Hunter warned. Once everyone was sitting and at the ready, he reinitialized the wormhole threshold, easing Waverider into the temporal corridor. "We have a stable path two weeks into your future," Hunter said, reviewing the data as it passed through his terminal. "I'll be able to dock in camouflage and start working on Waverider's repairs."

"Palmer Industries will be available for whatever assistance you need," Palmer said quickly. 

"And I have no doubt STAR Labs will be eager to help," Leonard drawled. Hunter shot Leonard an annoyed look, and he smirked. He never had learned to leave well enough alone.

Waverider came to a stop with a gentle shudder, and Leonard released the catch on his seat. 

Mick grinned and said, "Going to Saints and Sinners. Meet you there?"

"I'll think about it." Then Leonard stepped off Waverider, sucking in a deep breath. 

This city, this time, was his, and he felt the tension in his body uncoil with every step he took away from the time ship. He didn't bother with a taxi, and his motorcycle was safely in a garage. It was a short walk to the riverfront, though, so Leonard followed the path of tourist shopping traps and quaint bistros until he found a quiet spot on the river bank to sit. He had a lot to think about.

There was a crackle of electricity in the air, the _whoosh_ of movement, and although Leonard had chosen consciously not to think about Barry, he wasn't entirely surprised when he turned his head and found Barry standing next to him. "How'd you find me this time?"

"Cisco and Caitlin found a way to track Waverider," Barry said. "We were able to reconfigure the sensors tracking the dimensional portals to track temporal energy, too."

Leonard raised his eyebrows at the words 'dimensional portals' and shook his head. "It's been a hell of a day, Red."

Barry sat next to Leonard, fingers twitching. "Want to talk about it?"

"No." Leonard stared out over the water. He didn't react when Barry curled his hand over Leonard's and squeezed, breathing out a happy sigh. They watched the boats sailing in the distance, lights flashing. Neither of them moved.

"We went back in time," Leonard managed to say, the words difficult to push out, although he maintained his slow and disinterested tone.

Barry nodded. "That's what you guys do, right?"

"I met myself as a kid."

"I've done that, too."

Leonard tilted his head. "You've met yourself."

Barry nodded again. "I told you I went back in time? I've kind of done it more than once. I went back to the night my mother died, and... you know. There I was and there _I_ was, and then there was a _future_ me, and—"

Leonard shook his head, startled into a soft laugh. "I don't envy your life, kid."

Barry smiled. "Didn't I tell you to call me Barry?"

"You did," Leonard acknowledged, and he couldn't help the urge to steal a look at their hands, fingers so innocently entwined.

"So, you met yourself...?" Barry encouraged, and Leonard turned his gaze back toward the water.

"I stopped myself from running away. I'm waiting for that decision to come back and haunt me."

"Maybe it won't," Barry said. "Maybe you never ran away because you had stopped yourself from leaving. Just like I remember the lightning around my mother, and I remember _being_ the lightning and seeing myself outside of it. Paradox."

"I doubt I'm that lucky." Leonard chanced another look at Barry, an embarrassed thrill of excitement running down his spine when he saw that Barry was already looking at him. The whole situation was ridiculous. He was starting to act like he was sixteen, all giddiness and hormones. He averted his eyes. "I saw my grandfather, too."

"Was that a good thing?" Barry asked.

After a moment, Leonard said, "Yes." He appreciated that Barry didn't try to push him to answer. "He drove an ice cream truck. I still remember the exact temperature ice cream requires to stay frozen."

"So your cold thing didn't just happen because you got the gun," Barry said, his voice just as soft. 

"Much to Lisa's despair," Leonard admitted, and he fell into silence again, thinking fondly of his sister.

"I've got an idea." Barry released Leonard's hand with obvious unhappiness before he jumped up, jogging over to a kiosk to Leonard's left. He came back juggling two small sailboats, and he tossed the remotes onto the ground next to Leonard before he carefully set the boats in the water.

Leonard blinked, opened his mouth, but then closed it, at a loss for words. "You're not doing what I think you're doing."

Barry beamed a smile and scooted right up against Leonard's side, offering one of the controllers. "Joe and I used to do this when I was younger. I don't want to think about time travel anymore." Sure enough, Barry flipped the on switch, and one of the sailboats cut through the water in hesitant, wavery circles.

"You don't know how to steer?" Leonard teased, and Barry gave him an outraged look, spoiled by the flush rising high on his cheeks.

"I used to win races all the time with these things."

Leonard awkwardly took his own controller, said, "I think the detective was letting you win, Barry." He cut another look to watch Barry and started guiding his own boat. His day was becoming more and more surreal.

He was sitting at the riverbank with Barry Allen, unironically racing remote control _sailboats_. Lisa would have a stroke laughing at him.

"If you don't want to play with the boats, you could always use your gun to freeze the river," Barry suggested, giving Leonard a mischievous look. "We could ice skate."

Leonard gave him a hard look, although it was a little difficult with Barry sitting so close. "You want a damned _snow_ gun, go to Gotham. I only work in absolutes."

Barry snorted. "You know you're not funny, right?"

"I'll believe that when you quit laughing."

They raced the boats until their hour was up, and then Barry took everything back to the kiosk. Leonard didn't want to admit it, but he did feel a little better. He stood and dusted off his jeans. Barry approached slowly, his teeth worrying his bottom lip, hands jammed in his jeans pockets. "You're going?"

Leonard fought with himself for a second, but Barry's worried face broke his resolve. "Thank you. I feel better."

Barry edged another inch closer. "Have you thought about what I said the last time you were here?"

"It's been two days for me, Red," Leonard pointed out, and he fell into another second of silent hesitation. It was annoying, that slow descent into nerves and hope. He was forty-three. He should have been in better control of himself. "But yeah. I thought about it."

"And...?"

Leonard inhaled a breath, exhaled. "You're sure this is something you want to do?"

Barry's face brightened with excitement, which made the hard, amused sound of his laugh more startling. "No, Len. I've just been throwing myself at _everyone_."

Len. The kid was using a nickname now. "What am I getting myself into?" Leonard murmured, but when Barry pulled him in, he went, meeting Barry halfway in a gentle, chaste kiss. Barry shuddered all over and stepped closer, his hands loosening on Leonard's shirt. He slipped his fingers beneath Leonard's jacket, mapping Leonard's sides, and Leonard caught at Barry's wrists, stepping away from Barry's eager touch. "Moving a little too fast there."

"Len," Barry groaned unhappily, and he stepped into Leonard's space again, full of a strange, nervous energy that made Leonard stiffen warily. Barry pulled his wrists from Leonard's grip and curled his arms around Leonard's waist, pressing his head against Leonard's shoulder. "Okay, this is good, too."

Leonard took a breath and rested his hand against the back of Barry's neck, intensely aware that they were standing out in the open, that anyone could stumble upon them. "Barry."

"How long are you going to be here?" Barry asked softly. "How long before you have another mission?"

"Waverider's being repaired." Leonard lowered his hand in an experimental caress, following the line of Barry's spine. "I don't know."

Barry raised his head, and Leonard took a step back, searching Barry's face. It had grown dark while they had stayed at the waterfront, though, and he couldn't read Barry's expression. "Would it be weird to ask if you wanted to have dinner?"

"Yes." Leonard smirked at that, and Barry's eyes zeroed in on his face. He cupped Leonard's cheeks and pulled him in for another kiss, and Leonard couldn't resist taking advantage of Barry's enthusiasm, stealing a second to relish the warmth of Barry's mouth.

"How about a movie?" Barry asked, lips moving against Leonard's cheek, the line of his jaw. "Do you even watch movies? What do you do for _dates_?" Barry sucked hard at the soft spot behind the hinge of Leonard's jaw, biting him with surprisingly sharp teeth, and Leonard laughed outright, untangling himself from Barry and pushing him back so he could get some space.

"When I was your age, I wasn't interested in dates," Leonard said candidly.

Barry opened his mouth to respond, and then held up a finger, tapping his ear with a finger. "What's up, Cisco?"

Leonard blinked and recoiled, panic making him lurch backward. "Have you been on the radio this entire time?"

"What? Wait, wait, hold on—" Barry tapped his ear again and grabbed Leonard's hand. "I swear I had it disabled. For emergencies only." It must have been obvious on Leonard's face that he didn't believe him, because Barry's face twisted in unhappiness. "I _swear_ , Len. Cisco and Caitlin didn't hear _anything_."

Leonard exhaled and pulled his arm away. "I believe you. You have an emergency, you should go."

"And after?" Barry's fingers hovered over the audio receiver in his ear, waiting for Leonard's response.

"You know Waverider's communication channel," Leonard said. "Give me a call when you're done."

Barry beamed a smile and darted in for one last, hard kiss before he raced off, and Leonard turned toward the water, scrubbing a hand over his head. The night was still young, and Leonard didn't intend to spend it waiting on the Flash to finish his business, so instead, he called a taxi and headed over to Saints and Sinners to meet with Mick.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting when he walked in, but it certainly wasn't what he saw: faintly smoking char marks on the walls, Mick at the jukebox, his heat gun out of its holster and glowing; Kendra and Hall were at a small table, arguing in a way that meant they would either start punching each other or making out at any second; Jackson and Dr. Stein in the corner talking, a pitcher of beer on their table. Lance was playing a game of pool with Lisa, and Palmer was talking to Lucille, the bartender. "Don't worry about it!" Ray was telling her cheerfully, gesturing at the rest of the bar. "I'm Ray Palmer. I'll pay for the damages!"

"Snart!" Mick bellowed, and he pulled the trigger on his gun, sending a plume of flame toward the ceiling. "I fucking love this bar!"

Leonard shook his head, and found himself laughing, looking around at the bar again. "Mick, put that damn thing away."

"Cold!" Palmer said. "I was wondering when you'd get here. This lady said she knows you. Will you tell her I'm rich?"

"Sounds like you've already told her." Leonard made his way to the bar and gave Lucille a nod. "Good to see you. Whiskey. On ice." He set his arms on the bar and cocked his head toward Palmer. "He is rich. You can tell by his stupid suit." When Lucille came back with his drink, he continued in undertone. "I'll take care of it, Lucille."

"Damn straight, you will," Lucille said, baring her teeth in a semblance of a smile before she moved down the bar to wipe at a sticky spot.

Leonard turned around, surveying the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Mick was lonely without you," Lance called from the pool table. "He was going to go on a date with his gun all by himself. We couldn't let that happen."

"Besides, we were keeping an eye on him," Palmer continued, and Leonard watched as Jackson got up to get the fire extinguisher.

"Put. Your gun. Away." Leonard stared at Mick until Mick backed down, putting the gun in its holster and stroking the handle lovingly. Once that particular hurdle was corrected, Leonard looked over the songs in the jukebox and queued a song to play after Mick's country bullshit finished. Mick was never allowed to choose the music when he was drunk.

"Lenny!" Lisa balanced her cue against the pool table and gave Leonard a hug.

"Lise." Leonard hugged her back, and then pulled away to give her a searching look. "What are you doing here?"

"Unlike someone I know," Lisa said pointedly, "Mick invites me out for fun. You didn't tell me your super secret friends were so great."

"They aren't friends," Leonard said.

"Not yet, anyway," Lance agreed. "Stop interrupting our game." Lance gestured at the pool table, and Leonard nodded, stepping away to lean against the wall and watch the game. Lance won, eliciting a series of curses from his sister, and then she turned to Leonard, giving him a cocky smile. "You want to try?"

Leonard shrugged and took his sister's cue stick. Leonard idly chalked up the tip as he watched Lance set the table back up, his skin prickling from the realization that they were all spending time together voluntarily. "It's weird for me, too." Lance smirked at Leonard and carefully raised the triangle rack, stepping aside to allow him a look at the table.

"So you're psychic now." Leonard lined up his shot, scattering the balls and sending a striped one into the corner pocket.

"You spend enough time with someone, you start getting a feel for the way they think." Lance stared at him for a moment as he changed positions to knock another ball into a pocket, and laughed. "You should have just told Mick you were leaving for a hook up."

Leonard blinked, realizing instantly that Barry must have left a mark, and he smirked, taking his third shot and missing the pocket. "I got lucky."

Lance rolled her eyes. "Nice to know your stupid puns aren't limited to the cold, Snart." 

"Wait." Lisa straightened, looking at Leonard with wide eyes. "Was it that baby cop?"

"I'm sorry. Did I just hear the words 'baby cop'?" Lance asked, propping a hand on her hip and looking at them with interest.

"He's not a cop." Leonard gave his sister a frustrated look.

"Cradle robber," Lisa teased, and at the same time, Lance's face brightened in realization.

"He? Represent!" Lance clapped her hand on his shoulder and turned to the table to take her shot.

Leonard took a step back to lean against the wall next to Lisa. "You make my life hell."

"Liar," Lisa said affectionately. "Mick already told me that I'm the best thing that ever happened to you."

"I'm changing my mind."

"No, you're not." Lisa laughed, and then she sobered, giving Leonard a serious look. "You need to tell me about B—"

"Don't say his name," Leonard interrupted as he looked over his teammates in the bar. "Not here."

"You really like him, don't you?" 

"I don't know," Leonard answered, not entirely honest, and he focused his eyes on the pool table, watching Lance sink ball after ball.

"Hmm." Lisa curled her hand around his elbow. "Well, I'll forgive the fact that he's younger than me. It's better than watching you come in from bar alleys all gross."

"Lisa," Leonard warned, and Lisa smiled unrepentantly, raising her hands in surrender.

"Your turn," Lance said, and she stepped away from the table, the corner of her mouth curved into a smile. She had obviously been listening.

Leonard glowered at her on principle, and then took his position at the table, aiming for the cue ball. His communicator flashed on his wrist, and Lance looked at him, her eyes narrowed in speculation. "Who has access to our communication line?"

Leonard smiled and passed his cue to Mick. "Private call." He took his drink and downed it, throat working as he swallowed, and then set it down on the bar before he went outside for a little quiet. He tapped the flashing interface on his wrist, releasing the audio receiver, and fit it into his ear. "Cold here."

"That's funny," Barry laughed, and Leonard found himself smiling at the sound of Barry's voice. "It's pretty warm here."

"Sounds like your emergency is over."

"Different reality," Barry said, and Leonard took a moment to marvel that alternate realities were a thing that existed. "Where are you? I'll tell you all about it."

"I'm at Saints and Sinners—"

"I can be there in—"

"—and no." Leonard finished. He tried to imagine trying to introduce the Flash as his date to his teammates, and it was simply better not to risk it. "Tomorrow. You said you wanted a date."

"Dinner and a movie?" Barry teased. "That doesn't sound like your kind of thing."

"It isn't," Leonard agreed. "But it's your kind of thing."

"Okay." Barry's agreement made Leonard take a deep breath, and he rested his head against the brick of the wall behind him. "Where?"

"My apartment," Leonard said. It was the most logical place, all things considered; quiet, private, and it was unlikely that there would be any surprises. It would give Leonard enough time to decide what to do about Barry, and it was also the closest thing Leonard had to home in Central City. He hoped Barry appreciated the risk he was taking.

He gave Barry his address and ended the call, clicking his communicator into place on his wrist. He took a breath. Held it. Counted to ten. Exhaled. He thought of Lisa. Counted again.

When Leonard stepped back into the bar, Palmer and Mick were sitting at a table, a line of flaming shots between them, and Jackson had taken the other pool cue. "No one's beaten you yet, Lance?"

"No one's as good as me," Lance said, and she pushed her hair over her shoulder as she lined her cue. "And call me Sara. We've been traveling together long enough for first names."

"Len's not as much fun to say as Snart," Mick rumbled.

Palmer laughed and blew out one of the shots, smirking at Mick's outraged face as he raised the glass and tossed back his drink. "Seriously, though, there's no reason why we should be so standoffish. We're all rejects together."

"Don't make me get my gun," Leonard warned, and he went up to the bar to join his sister and order another drink, turning his back to the others to hide his smile.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone for reading this! There's nothing more exciting than to see everyone enjoying this, so seriously, thank you so much. ♥


	4. Netflix and Chill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Stop stealing my jokes, kid." The smile slid off Leonard's face as he continued to watch Barry. "I'm waiting for the catch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Lady Krysis and dungeonmarm for the betas, as always.
> 
> There is so much porn in this chapter. /o\ But there's also plot to make up for it. 
> 
> Also, there's some consent talk and very minor use of safewords.

~*~

Leonard knew that he may have been a little too invested in Barry Allen when he stopped at his favorite Chinese place and ordered their dinner without pausing for a moment to wonder what Barry wanted to eat. It was something he already knew, filed away in his mind, just like he knew Barry was the one who bought stupid coffee mugs for his foster father, just like he knew the color of Barry's curtains and sheets. It was possible Leonard had a problem.

He got home a few minutes before seven and was scooping out the food onto plates when the doorbell rang. Seven exactly. He peered through the peephole to verify it was Barry and then unlocked the deadbolt and the chain, opening the door and stepping aside to let Barry in. Barry gave Leonard a shy smile, and Leonard couldn't shake how surreal everything felt.

Barry swallowed. "Hi."

"Hi." Leonard busied himself with locking the door again, and he watched Barry out of the corner of his eye as Barry shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around Leonard's living room.

"Your place is nice," Barry said, and Leonard gave a short nod of agreement. 

"Thanks." He felt awkward with Barry in his space, his skin buzzing with a slow, simmering anxiety.

"What's this?" Barry asked as he came to Leonard's favorite painting, the one Lisa had stolen in her first score.

Leonard slid his hands into his pockets and stepped closer as he looked at the painting. "Monet. The Break-Up of the Ice. He painted it in 1880, after the Seine had frozen."

"It's beautiful," Barry agreed, and then he narrowed his eyes. "It's a replica, isn't it?"

Leonard smiled, slim and noncommittal, and rested his hand against the small of Barry's back, guiding him toward the kitchen. "We should eat. We don't want the food getting cold." 

"It _is_ just a copy, right?" Barry asked again, looking at Leonard from the corners of his eyes, but Leonard kept his mild, neutral expression, allowing Barry to come to his own conclusions. 

"I ordered Kung Pao chicken and peanut sesame noodles."

"Sounds good," Barry said, after a pause almost too quick to notice, and Len relaxed, just a fraction. This was not turning into a disaster as immediately as he had anticipated. 

The first several minutes were occupied with eating, and Leonard watched Barry, occasional and discreet, as Barry shoved forkful after forkful of food into his mouth. That lasted until Barry glanced up and found Leonard watching. Then he blushed and cleared his throat. "Sorry, I'm hungry."

Leonard smiled at that. "We included dinner in our plans. I'd be worried if you weren't eating."

Barry grinned at that. "You've got a point."

Leonard waved his hand dismissively and got a second portion of chicken. "Eat whatever you want. I'm not judging."

Barry laughed. "If we started judging each other, we'd probably never stop."

Leonard smirked and shook his head. "You have a second career in judging people."

"That's— Not entirely true," Barry said.

Leonard set his fork down and interlaced his fingers, watching Barry over the clasp of his hands. "You judge people all the time, Red."

Barry shook his head. "I stop crimes."

"And you used to stick metahumans in cells without a trial," Leonard pointed out.

Barry flushed a dull, unhappy red, and Leonard picked up his fork again. "Maybe Flash and Cold stuff should be of limits."

"You think?"

They fell silent, and Leonard searched for something to say. It had been a good two decades since he'd been on a date, and he had answers for all the small questions one might have asked in that situation. 

Barry cleared his throat. "So what have you been doing with Rip and your team?"

Leonard arched an eyebrow. "Whatever's necessary." He watched Barry for another second. "Rip took me for his team because I can steal things and kill people. Not because I'm a hero."

"You're doing bad things for a good reason," Barry said weakly. "That's a step in the right direction."

"I don't need you to make apologies for me. You and I both know what kind of person I am." Leonard finished his chicken and picked up his water glass. Barry shoved another forkful of food into his mouth.

"I do," Barry said, with a firmness that surprised Leonard. "And you're not as bad as you think you are. You can't chase me away that easily."

It was Leonard who averted his eyes this time. He felt out of his depth, which wasn't something he was accustomed to feeling anymore. Once they had finished eating, Leonard took the dishes to the sink, glad that he'd ordered twice the amount he'd considered, because Barry had inhaled everything. He was surprised again when Barry followed him, sleeves rolled up, and helped him wash the plates.

With Barry's help, clean up took minutes, and Leonard felt a warm sort of pleasure at the fact that Barry hadn't raced through any of it. "Time for a movie?"

"This is really weird for you, isn't it?" Barry asked, leaning against the counter, and Leonard laughed, turning away as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yes, Barry, it's weird. I've kidnapped and tortured your friends. I killed my father in front of you. How did we get here?" 

Barry curled a hand around Leonard's elbow, tugging until they were facing each other. "Luck. And some stubbornness." They stared at each other for a minute, and Barry slid his hand down Leonard's arm, interlacing their fingers. "Come on. We'll watch a movie."

Leonard knew they walked to the couch, that Barry turned on a movie, that he was even looking forward at the screen, but he would have been hard-pressed to tell you anything about it. All of his attention was focused on Barry — the innocent warmth of their entwined fingers, the hitch of Barry's breath, the press of Barry's thigh lined against his. Leonard found himself matching Barry's breathing, idly rubbing his thumb along the length of Barry's finger.

"You're not really watching the movie, are you?" Barry asked a half an hour later.

"No." Leonard turned his face toward Barry's profile, not even bothering with the pretense at this point. "Trying to figure you out."

"I'm simple, really." Leonard watched as a charming flush crept up Barry's face. "Dinner, movie, maybe some kissing."

"So you're looking to Netflix and chill." Leonard was unable to fight his smirk and watched as his words sank in.

Barry turned a horrified face toward him, and then Barry released his hand, scrambling for a throw pillow and smacking his shoulder with it. "Len, you're practically a Facebook wine mom. Just don't."

"Your face was worth it," Leonard admitted, and Barry swatted him with the pillow again.

"Now you have to kiss me," Barry said, "just to make up for your dumb jokes."

"Oh, do I?" Leonard raised his hand, caressing Barry's cheek with his knuckles, and it was exhilarating, how quickly Barry closed his mouth, teeth clicking in his haste. This, the language of physical attraction, Leonard could navigate, and he felt like he was the one with lightning flickering under his skin as he touched Barry, tender and careful, fingers sweeping down Barry's throat to feel the throb of his pulse. "I'm not convinced I should kiss you on our first date."

Barry licked his lips, and Leonard watched the dart of his pink tongue, Leonard's heartbeat picking up in anticipation. "Fourth, actually."

"No." Leonard snorted at that and removed his hand. "You can't count the—"

"I can, and I will. Someone's been slow on the uptake." Leonard watched with a sort of helpless fascination as Barry smirked. He wasn't sure if he'd ever seen Barry look quite like that before. "One might even say... glacial." Leonard blinked, and Barry's face grew warmer with a mischievous sort of glee. "Get it?"

Leonard laughed and shook his head. "I've ruined you."

"You've ruined me," Barry agreed. He scooted closer, and then closer again. His irises were thin rings around his large pupils. Leonard knew what Barry wanted, Barry's eagerness written all over his face. It made Leonard want to wait even longer.

"God, Len, would you just—" Leonard could see the moment Barry's control broke, and Barry surged across the seat, mouth ready and damp and open, and Leonard cupped Barry's jaw again, could feel Barry's pulse beneath his fingertips as they kissed. Barry's skin was warm, his cheek smooth, and he smelled of a mild, woodsy cologne. Leonard was oddly touched at the idea that Barry had actually shaved before coming to their date. He pushed that thought aside and continued his slow, steady exploration, experimentally touching Barry's cheeks and throat, sweeping his fingers through Barry's hair (that got him a moan, something he would have to come back to later) and he cupped the back of Barry's neck to keep Barry in place as they kissed.

It was with a pained reluctance that Leonard finally pulled back, and the way Barry whined at the loss of contact almost made him change his mind. Still, he took a breath and guided Barry onto the seat cushion next to him and patted Barry's knee. Leonard needed to make sure this was what Barry wanted, because he was one kiss away from simply not giving a damn.

"Please don't make a joke about curfew," Barry said, flat and worried, and Leonard looked at him, smirked.

"Stop stealing my jokes, kid." The smile slid off Leonard's face as he continued to watch Barry. "I'm waiting for the catch."

"There _is_ no catch." Barry turned on the couch, drawing up his leg as he faced Leonard. "I told you before. I just want to see where this goes."

"Or you could go home, no hard feelings," Leonard offered. "Call it a case of temporary insanity."

Barry's face went through a series of expressions—annoyance, worry, determination—and Leonard itched with the urge to pull Barry in, to take what he wanted. He took a deep breath and chose to settle back against the arm of the sofa. "If you don't want me, Len, all you have to say—"

"I'm _saying_ that I'll let you walk away. Right now. If I kiss you again, you're not going home tonight."

Barry didn't break eye contact as he reached out and used the remote control to turn the television off, as he fished out his cellphone and brought it to his ear. "Hey, Cisco, I wanted to give a heads-up. I'm not going to be available tonight, for like… anything. If a black hole opens up in our sky, give me a call." Barry mouthed an apology to Leonard as he turned away. "Dude, I really don't care. Call Jay or-or Wally, he's been wanting to get out. I'll talk to you later." Barry hung up and set his phone on the coffee table.

"Who's Wally?" Leonard asked, pinning Barry with a suspicious look. "How many speedsters _are_ there in my city?"

"Don't worry about it." Barry eased closer and then swung his leg over Leonard's lap, straddling Leonard's thighs. "You're _my_ smart, sexy super villain. The only Flash you need to think about handling is me." Barry cupped Leonard's face in his hands, and Leonard moved with him, his heart thudding in his chest, the muscles in his arms cording with anticipation. "Your turn." Leonard smiled, eyes intent on Barry's face, and raised his arm so that Barry could slide off the communicator on his wrist. Barry threw it without looking away from Leonard, eyes locked, and Leonard could hear it slide against the carpet before it thumped gently into the wall.

Leonard tilted his face up, cupped his hand around the back of Barry's neck, and they moved together without another word. Leonard kissed Barry like he'd been wanting to kiss him since they started this bizarre flirtation — hard, hungry. A fierce satisfaction burned in him as Barry pressed forward, curling his arms around Leonard's neck, his mouth yielding and sweet. Leonard bit at Barry's bottom lip, shuddered at the quiet breath Barry exhaled. He wanted to be gentle, he wanted to tear Barry apart, he wanted to leave Barry fucked out and relaxed on his bed, knowing Barry would be there when he got back.

He clamped an arm across Barry's back, keeping him pulled in tight, and tugged on Barry's hair, breaking their kiss to bite a line down Barry's throat. It was delicious, the way Barry's fingers dug into Leonard's shoulders, the vibration of his voice against Leonard's lips when he groaned. 

"I—I could speed us to the bedroom," Barry panted, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it behind him.

"I'm not missing this." Leonard fastened his mouth on Barry's newly-bare shoulder and sucked a red mark that faded in seconds. "We'll get there." 

Barry got his fingers between them and started working at the buttons of Leonard's shirt, twitching when Leonard scraped his teeth against Barry's collarbone. "Biting, wow, okay," Barry babbled, and Leonard felt more than heard the way his shirt ripped in Barry's hands.

Leonard paused, catching at Barry's wrists. "Do I need to stop?"

"Are you kidding?" Barry asked. "I'm about to come in my pants."

"Flattering," Leonard teased, and he shrugged out of his ruined shirt. "Hold on." He stood, cupping the backs of Barry's thighs, and Barry kissed him again, sharing a laugh as he curled his legs around Leonard's hips.

"I can't say I've ever been carried before," Barry admitted, his hands curling around Leonard's shoulders again, dragging his fingers back and forth over Leonard's shoulder blades and leaving Leonard's skin prickling in response.

"Always happy to be of service," Leonard said, slow and snide, and he hefted Barry a little higher in his arms, just to see Barry laugh at the extra bounce.

Barry kissed Leonard again as they made their way down the hall, and Leonard licked his way into Barry's mouth, flicking his tongue against Barry's. His mind felt hazy in all the right ways, his attention solely on Barry in his arms, the scrape of Barry's fingernails against his skin, the heat and weight of his body in Leonard's arms. Barry rocked against him, rolling his hips, and Leonard growled, slamming Barry against the wall, pinning Barry in place so he could free one of his hands.

Barry grabbed Leonard's face in his hands again, short nails scratching at Leonard's jaw and scalp, and Leonard moaned into Barry's mouth as he popped open the button on Barry's jeans and pulled down the zipper. He shoved down Barry's pants just far enough to get his hand around Barry's cock, and Barry bit Leonard's lip hard enough that Leonard tasted blood before Barry knocked his head back against the wall, eyes squeezed shut.

"Hey," Leonard rasped, sinking his teeth into Barry's throat and licking the indentation, "eyes open, or I stop."

Barry's eyes flew open, the irises nearly swallowed by dark pupil. "You're driving me _crazy_. Come on, Snart, just—"

"I've got you, kid. Relax." 

Leonard licked his hand and fastened his fingers around Barry's erection again, taking a second to appreciate the heat of Barry, the weight. He rubbed his thumb against the slit of Barry's cock, smearing the drop of pre-come beading at the head, and fastened his mouth on Barry's collarbone again as he stroked, slow and tight. Barry was babbling again, something that Leonard didn't bother to pay attention to, since he didn't hear 'no' or 'stop', and then Barry started buzzing, a low whirr that Leonard didn't catch until he realized that Barry was _vibrating_. Leonard had to raise his head and watch in amazement as Barry slapped his hand against the wall, not entirely there, not entirely solid, and then Leonard felt the wetness of Barry's climax against his fingers.

"Holy. Shit," Barry panted.

"That happen often?" Leonard asked, taking a second to wipe his hand on his own jeans.

"Mm, I usually have. Better control." Barry licked his lips and tried to catch his breath.

"Fantastic," Leonard said, shaking his head. "How fast can you _go_? Is vibrating a thing you normally do?"

Barry stared down at Leonard, a frown wrinkling his forehead. "Are you… _sciencing_ at me?"

"Obviously." Leonard pressed a kiss to Barry's shoulder in apology. "You can't blame me."

"We could do research," Barry said, breathless, and he guided Leonard's head up for a slow, thorough kiss. "My refractory period, for one."

Leonard smiled against Barry's mouth and curled his hand around Barry's cock again, squeezing him just to feel the twitch, the shudder that rippled Barry's body. "I suppose we can put my other questions on ice."

"I hate you," Barry said flatly. "Kiss me again." 

Leonard did, releasing Barry's cock again only to shove Barry's jeans down his calves. Barry squeezed Leonard tighter with his thighs as he toed off his shoes behind Leonard's back, and Leonard carried Barry down the rest of the hallway. Leonard set Barry down on the bed and stretched him out to take time and just look at the kid. The long legs, slim torso, flat brown nipples. Leonard paused to grab Barry's ankle, carefully peeling off one sock and then the other, tossing them behind him.

"Satisfied?" Barry asked, splayed out against Leonard's blankets, and Leonard gave him a slow grin, gliding his hands up Barry's shins.

"Very." Leonard took off his shoes and set them to the side before he touched Barry again, eyes intent and unblinking as he watched Barry's response.

"Len, get naked and get up here," Barry ordered, and Leonard smirked, curling his fingers around Barry's hips and rubbing his thumbs in gentle circles over Barry's skin.

"Barry Allen." Leonard prowled onto the bed and straddled Barry's hips, careful to hold himself up so that he didn't accidentally chafe Barry's cock on his jeans. "You need to chill out." He reached over to his nightstand and pulled a condom out of the drawer.

"You can't help yourself, can you?" Barry asked.

"You wouldn't want me to." Leonard's smile grew wider as he set the condom aside and lowered his head. 

Barry immediately raised up on his elbows for a kiss, and Leonard indulged him, supporting his weight on one hand as he curled the other into Barry's hair. He kissed Barry until his mouth ached, until his arm shook from holding himself up, and even then he only pulled away to see the flush on Barry's cheeks, his dark eyes and damp red mouth. He nuzzled Barry's throat, sucked a path over Barry's skin. 

Leonard was physically incapable of leaving any suspicious marks that would need to be explained later, and he took full advantage, the prickle of his five o'clock shadow leaving a red scrape against Barry's collarbone. He bit his way down Barry's chest, leaving mottled patches of skin that faded to normal in seconds. Sadly, Barry's nipples didn't seem to be very sensitive, so Leonard gave a particularly hard bite there in annoyance, humming when Barry jumped, his hands twitching.

Leonard mapped Barry's stomach with his lips and tongue and Barry buzzed beneath him again. Leonard pulled away with a soft curse, shaking his hands as if that would ease the burn of friction on his palms.

"Sorry, sorry," Barry said, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. He reached out but pulled his hand back at the last second, letting it fall to the bed. "I swear I usually don't do this."

Leonard paused to consider the situation, sitting back on his heels. "Have you had sex since your powers...?"

Barry flushed. "Yeah, I— Yes. I have. I don't know why I keep freaking out." Barry ran a hand through his hair, and Leonard sat up, swinging his legs off the bed as he looked at Barry, serious and assessing.

"Do we need to stop?"

"No. _No_. Absolutely not." Barry shook his head, fast and hard. "I've already... I could... I mean—" Barry made a vague gesture toward Leonard's lap, and Leonard arched an eyebrow.

"Two things," Leonard said, and he raised a finger. "One, if you can't say the word 'blowjob,' you don't get to give one. Two, your vibrating mouth will have vibrating teeth, which— No." He watched as Barry's flush darkened. Barry was so damned young. A handjob in a back alley was much less complicated than all of this.

"I do want you," Barry said bravely, his chin jutting out like he expected Leonard to argue.

He laughed instead. "I may have figured that out." He leaned toward Barry and kissed him, chaste and affectionate. "Let's try this again."

Barry nodded and laid back against the bed at Leonard's urging. Leonard took his time to touch Barry, caressing the line of Barry's thighs. He coaxed Barry to bend his knees, carefully rearranging Barry before settling back into place. He jacked Barry back to full hardness and slipped the condom carefully over Barry's cock. He curled his hands around Barry's thighs, and Leonard stopped for just a second to appreciate the moment. His mouth was watering, and Barry had a dick that was as pretty as the rest of him, slender and flushed red, not too long. Leonard was going to break something if he had to stop again. His hands tightened on Barry's legs, and he licked Barry from root to tip, ducked his head to take Barry between his lips.

Barry buzzed and fell through the bed.

Leonard blinked, hands dropping a few scant inches to the blankets, the condom a small, sad piece of latex, his bed empty. He was going to shoot something. His gun was in a drawer, carefully cleaned and stored, and he was going to put it back together and shoot something. "Barry?"

Barry's hand shot up, fingers solidifying, and Leonard grasped them, pulling Barry through and up onto the bed again. "This is so, so embarrassing."

"You can move through solid matter."

"Uh. Yeah." Barry rubbed the back of his head and then inspected his arms and legs, as if surprised he wasn't stuck in the bed and in desperate need of medical assistance. "I can move my molecules fast enough to… yeah."

Leonard shook his head again. "Amazing," he whispered, and for a moment, he wondered what it would be like to plan a heist with Barry as his partner. "You're full of surprises, Red."

" I... I'd understand if _you_ wanted to stop," Barry muttered, and he blushed again, damnably sweet.

"Let me think." Leonard slid off the bed and grabbed the condom, tossing it into the trashcan in his bathroom. The problem was Barry's nervousness, his excitement. Leonard ran a hand over his head and turned on the tap, splashing his face with cold water to clear his head. All he had to do was think of a solution, and maybe Barry wouldn't be averse to following some instructions.

Leonard stared at himself in the mirror, at the mess of hickeys that Barry had left on him while he wasn't paying attention, and then he looked at his hands, the skin pink and aching from the friction burn he hadn't expected to receive tonight.

He stepped out of the bathroom, irrationally pleased that Barry was still sitting on the bed. "I'm sorry—" Barry began almost immediately, and Leonard raised a hand to stop him.

"Don't apologize, Red. It makes me uncomfortable." Leonard sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm going to try something different."

"Okay...?" Barry sounded uncertain but optimistic, and Leonard took a breath.

"The problem is your headspace. So I'm going to take you out of it." Leonard reached into his nightstand drawer again and pulled out another condom and then a pair of nitrile gloves. "I want you to remain still. Lay there. Don't move a muscle."

"That's it?" Barry asked, his eyes narrowing on Leonard.

"That's it," Leonard agreed. "If you think you're going to vibrate or fall through my bed again, say 'yellow' and I'll slow down. If you don't want to do anything more, say 'red' and I'll stop. Completely."

"What are the gloves for?" Barry asked, and Leonard held up a hand so Barry could get a closer look. 

"If you vibrate, these will protect me from friction burn. I don't like the heat."

"Okay," Barry agreed, and his face softened. "You're being really cool about... everything."

Leonard parted his lips, unsure what to say, but Barry leaned forward to take the decision out of Leonard's hands and kissed him again. The kiss lingered, slow and sweet and intimate, and it was only when Barry pulled away that Leonard settled back between Barry's legs. 

"Remember what I said."

Barry nodded, face so open and trusting that it made tension coil through Leonard's shoulders again. He took a deep breath, slid the condom over Barry again, and then he took Barry's hips in his hands and pinned him to the bed, watching Barry for any sign of discomfort as he slipped the head of Barry's cock between his lips and sucked.

The situation may have been unusual — and Leonard could count the number of times he'd taken a partner home on one hand — but there was something distinctly satisfying about having Barry there, where Leonard could take his time. Leonard was going to make sure Barry enjoyed every second of it. 

There was an occasional buzz from Barry's fingers, his foot, but he remained solid beneath Leonard's hands, and Leonard moaned around Barry's cock in appreciation. Barry was quieter than he had been before, and every time Leonard glanced up to look, Barry's face was twisted in concentration. Gorgeous.

It didn't take long for Barry to come, even after the false starts and serious conversation, and Leonard only pulled away when his jaw ached too much to continue. 

"Much better," he rumbled, and kissed his way up Barry's chest again before he licked his way back into Barry's mouth.

Leonard's stomach jerked in sudden velocity, and he found himself on his back, blinking up at the ceiling. " _This_ is much better," Barry said, smiling, and he flashed away for a second, along with Leonard's jeans.

Leonard smirked. "You could have asked me to move."

"It wouldn't have been as much fun," Barry said, and his eyes were dark with concentration as he touched Leonard, careful and hesitant. 

Leonard propped himself up on his pillows and watched Barry skim his fingers over Leonard's legs. The sight of Barry naked in his bed and _touching_ him was more than he expected, and Leonard's stomach felt warm with excitement. He didn't think he was ready for Barry to actually touch his erection, so instead, he guided Barry away, entirely unprepared when Barry followed his silent guidance by moving up, sliding against him and pressing their bodies together, skin to skin. Leonard's hands flew up to grab Barry's arms, and Leonard shuddered as his finely-honed control came close to shattering.

"This is okay, too, right?" Barry nuzzled Leonard's throat, brushed a kiss against his jaw. Leonard swallowed and relaxed his hold on Barry's arms, curling his hands around Barry's back and mapping the line of Barry's spine.

"Yeah," Leonard decided, "it's okay." He bent a knee, letting Barry settle into the cradle of his thighs, and his breath caught when Barry pressed against him, Barry's cock heavy against his inner thigh. He scraped his fingers through Barry's hair, tugging gently at the strands.

Barry caught Leonard's wrist, peeling off one of the gloves and kissing the tips of Leonard's tender fingers. "Sorry about your hands."

"They'll heal," Leonard said, his throat growing dry when Barry took off the other glove and scraped his teeth against the heel of Leonard's palm. Without any barriers between them, Leonard could feel every flex of muscle, the way Barry's cock grew harder against the crease of his hip. "You weren't kidding about that refractory period."

"What can I say?" Barry smiled, pressing his mouth against Leonard's wrist. "You just do something to me." Barry's face brightened, and he sat up, turning to dig through Leonard's nightstand. 

Leonard smirked and waved a hand. "Help yourself."

Barry gave a flustered smile and held up a tube of lubricant. "I think I will."

Adrenaline hit Leonard in an instant, his heart thudding in his ears, and he rose on his elbows to give Barry an intent look. "What, exactly, do you hope to do with that?"

"I was thinking," Barry said, "about what you said. With the friction burn. So if we get everything, uh, wet enough, we should be okay."

"You're killing me." Leonard slumped back to the bed, hiding his face in the crook of his elbow, holding his other hand out for the tube. "Give it to me."

Barry snorted and pushed Leonard's hand away. "I _have_ done this before, you know. You don't have to treat me like I'm clueless."

"Oh, you're the voice of experience." Leonard swallowed back a laugh. "My mistake."

Barry shook his head and crawled back onto the bed. "You're driving me crazy, Len."

"Right. I'm driving _you_ crazy." Leonard dropped his arm back to the mattress, watching Barry prowl over him, counting to ten silently to stop himself from reaching out.

"I'm shaking out of my skin, touching you," Barry whispered, and he splayed his fingers over Leonard's stomach and chest, goosebumps rising on Leonard's skin in response, "and you haven't lost your head once."

Leonard frowned at that and cupped Barry's face in his hands, forcing Barry to look at him head on. "If you think I haven't lost my head, you haven't been paying attention." 

Barry's mouth parted in surprise, and then he surged forward and kissed Leonard again. Leonard met him halfway, his fingers hard against Barry's face. Barry fumbled with the lube for a second, squeezing his hand between them, and Leonard gasped against Barry's mouth, his hands dropping from Barry's face to dig into his shoulders as he arched, thrusting into Barry's grip.

"Make that sound again. I—" Barry pressed his face against Leonard's shoulder, and Leonard felt the sting of Barry's teeth, Barry's slick hand on his hip guiding them together. 

Leonard had been proud of how clear-headed he'd been almost the entire evening, and now Barry was ruining that. Leonard wanted more and more, and he closed his eyes, dragging his hand down Barry's back as Barry ground against him, their erections wet with lubrication and sliding easily against skin.

Leonard felt the breath of Barry's soft laugh against his cheek more than he heard it, and then Barry said, "Eyes open, or I stop." Leonard's eyes flew open in surprise, and Barry laughed again, leaning down to steal another kiss.

When Leonard finally came, the relief was so sweet that it ached. Barry dropped his head to Leonard's shoulder and hid his face against Leonard's throat as he thrust, rutting through the mess of sweat and semen between them until he shuddered out his third climax.

Leonard's thoughts were quiet in the way he only ever got after orgasm, and he idly caressed the length of Barry's back, content to hold him close. He normally would have pushed his partner away by now and gone into the bathroom to clean up, but he didn't want any misunderstandings. Barry was almost definitely the kind of kid who wanted to cuddle.

After a minute or two, still sweeping his hand up and down Barry's back, Leonard asked, "You okay?" 

"Yeah." Barry moved off of Leonard and to the side, as though Leonard asking after him was a code for climbing off, and he didn't appreciate it. 

Leonard got out of the bed and went to the bathroom, cleaning the mess of semen off his stomach with a washcloth, and then did the same for Barry, careful not to be any rougher than necessary. When Leonard came back, Barry was watching him from the bed. They had never turned the light on in the first place, so Leonard walked back to the bed and slipped under the covers, tugging and pulling at Barry until Barry managed to squirm under the covers as well.

"You're letting me stay." Barry's voice was soft and pleased.

"Of course I am," Leonard answered. "You can leave whenever you want."

"No." Barry tugged Leonard where he wanted him, curling Leonard's arm around him so he could pillow his head on Leonard's shoulder. "This is perfect."

"Go to sleep," Leonard whispered, and he cautiously drew Barry closer, petting Barry's hair. "You're buying breakfast."

Barry laughed. "Yeah, okay. That's fair." 

Leonard didn't say anything to that. He didn't know what he could say. Barry wasn't the type of person who fit into the life Leonard had built for himself. He had known this before, but having Barry's attention was something he couldn't resist. Soon enough, Barry would come to his senses and realize that sex didn't constitute a relationship, but for now, Leonard was taking full advantage of it. 

After five or six minutes — Leonard wasn't counting — Barry's breathing evened out in sleep. Leonard's arm started to ache, but even then, he didn't move Barry over onto his own pillow. He was damning himself, but he was going to hold onto the kid for as long as he could.

~*~

It was early in the morning when Leonard woke, and he opened his eyes into slits, watching as Barry sat up in the bed, his fingers trailing idly down Leonard's arm.

"Breakfast already?" Leonard rumbled, and Barry jumped, turning a bright smile toward Leonard.

"Morning." Barry said. "I know it's early, but I've got work."

Leonard hummed and got out of bed. His jeans were crumpled on the floor, and he grabbed them, pulling them on before he turned around to face Barry. Barry jerked his eyes up to Leonard's face, and Leonard arched an eyebrow before he turned around and went down the hall. He felt the whoosh of air when Barry sped past him, but he continued his way to the kitchen, setting his coffee maker to brew. Leonard stretched and scratched his belly and then took two cups from the cupboard, pausing a second to indulge in a yawn.

Barry raced back into the apartment as the coffee was gurgling into the pot, and pressed a kiss to the corner of Len's mouth, handing him a white paper bag. "Donuts. Hope you like them. See you tonight?"

"Depends," Leonard said, setting the bag on the counter. "I could be anywhere." He gestured at his coffee pot. "Coffee?"

"I wish I could, but I'm running late," Barry said, and he kissed Leonard again. "I left my number on the table, so text me or something, will you?"

Leonard crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the kitchen sink, a smile tugging at his mouth. "Get out of here, Red."

Barry beamed. "Have fun saving the future!" He raced out, the air crackling behind him, and then he raced back in to steal another kiss. "Seriously. Text me." He was gone again in the next instant, and Leonard made his coffee, putting the other mug back into the cupboard.

Mick would probably like the donuts.

~*~

Leonard was just finishing his toast when he heard the muffled beep of his communicator. He tracked the sound, finding the communicator in the corner where Barry had thrown it the previous night. "Snart here."

"Where have you been?" Kendra again, and Leonard wondered if she'd lost a bet for babysitting duty. "We've been trying to contact you all night."

"I was busy. What do you need?"

"The repairs to Waverider are almost done. I wanted to know if you were coming back."

"That depends," Leonard said, already turning back down the hall to retrieve his gun. "Is your boyfriend coming along?"

"Unfortunately," Kendra said flatly.

"I could shoot him for you," Leonard offered. "Give you some peace and quiet."

"Thank you for the offer," Kendra sighed, "but no."

"Offer's open. I'll be there in an hour." He must be losing his edge if the others were calling to gossip.

Still, he took his time to get ready, and he thought of Barry, how the kid had left his number, and then he walked over to the coffee table, taking the slip of paper. "Gideon?"

"Yes, Mr. Snart?" The computer's smooth voice answered immediately over the communicator.

"If I wanted to keep in contact with someone. During my present. How would we accomplish that?"

"We can remodulate your communicator, Mr. Snart," Gideon said. "If you give me their information, I can upload the data and give you access."

"I don't want anyone to know about this," Leonard said.

"Captain Hunter has access to all the information in my mainframe," Gideon replied, "but I will restrict the information from the rest of your shipmates."

"Thank you," Leonard said, and he stuck the number in his pocket, grabbing his helmet and the bag of donuts.

"You're welcome, Mr. Snart."

~*~

When Leonard pulled up to the rendezvous spot, he was surprised to see Sara in the open, her eyes closed as she worked through the forms of Lama Pai. Mick waved to him from the bench that he was sitting on, and Leonard joined him, frowning as he looked from Mick to Sara.

"Relax," Mick said. "She said I could look as long as I didn't touch."

Leonard gave Mick a hard side-eye and then passed him the donuts. "Eat these."

"What do you have donuts for?" Mick asked, opening the bag and pulling one out, taking a bite before continuing. "I thought you hated these things."

"That's why you're eating them," Leonard said dryly. 

Mick shrugged and finished the donut, licking his fingers clean of the glaze. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Leonard stood and headed toward Waverider. It was an interesting tableau to walk into — Cisco gesturing in excitement at one of the open panels, Kendra standing next to him, watching with a deep affection, Carter sitting across the bay, looking at them both with barely-concealed jealousy. 

Leonard didn't feel like bothering with the Hawks today, so he squeezed between two of the seats, heading for his own quarters. There was a squawk behind him, a clatter of equipment. "You!"

Leonard turned around and gave Cisco a curious look, lips curving into an automatic smirk. "Cisco. Always lovely to see you."

"What are you doing here?" Cisco asked, and he turned to Kendra. "What is he doing here?"

Kendra laughed. "He's a member of our team, Cisco. Where did you expect him to be?"

"I—" Cisco looked around and then crouched to clean up the instruments he'd dropped. "I don't know. Doing something bad somewhere?"

"Snart can do bad anywhere," Carter said. 

Leonard turned a smug smile his way. "Such a sweet talker. I don't see how Kendra can resist." Carter glared at him, and Leonard inclined his head before he turned back around and headed for his room.

"Snart, wait, I mean—" There was another clatter as Cisco set his armful of tools on the console, and he shot a nervous grin at Kendra. "Can you hold on just a sec?"

Restless frustration itched beneath Leonard's skin. He'd hoped to avoid any sort of conversation with any of them. "Fine, Cisco. Come on. We'll _talk_."

"Oh, thank god," Cisco breathed, and he hurried after Leonard, who graciously opened the door to his room and allowed Cisco in.

"All right," Leonard sighed and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "Say it."

"Okay." Cisco paced in front of Leonard for a minute and then nodded to himself. When he turned to Leonard, his face was hard. "Okay. Short version? You hurt Barry, and I'll kill you."

Leonard arched his eyebrow and stared at Cisco. "Right."

"Well, okay," Cisco capitulated, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe not kill you. But I'll get some sort of revenge."

Leonard nodded. "Fair enough. And the long version?"

"What is going _on_ between you two?" Cisco blurted, as though he'd been holding it in for a long time and couldn't wait another second. "That crazy dinner, and Barry's moods have been up and down like you wouldn't believe. I've been creating a new series of scans to see if we can figure it out, and— Wait, wait. Was he with you last night?"

"Don't push your luck," Leonard said, giving Cisco a narrow look.

Cisco raised his hands up in surrender. "Look, okay, your scary glare totally works because I'm already terrified of you. Every time I see you, I'm reminded all over again about the things you've done. And I don't know what's going on or what you're doing with Barry, but even if you have good intentions, I can't forgive you, okay?"

"I'm not asking for forgiveness." Leonard turned away from Cisco, slipping off his parka and putting it into his closet.

"I don't trust you, Snart," Cisco said, his voice tight with unhappiness. "You're a bad guy, and I don't think Barry realizes this anymore. But I haven't forgotten."

"Good," Leonard rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "That kid needs someone to watch his back. He's trusting. Reckless. It's good that he has friends."

"You... You agree? Wow." Cisco exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, not the way I expected this conversation to go."

"I'm a reasonable guy," Leonard said. "I can even respect your position. That said, Barry's an adult and he can make his own decisions." Leonard crossed his arms over his chest again. "We're done now."

"Right." Cisco cleared his throat, shifted from foot to foot. "One other thing." Cisco took three quick steps to Leonard and touched his arm. Leonard watched as Cisco's eyes dilated. He caught Cisco's arm when Cisco swayed in place. A second later, the faraway look in Cisco's eyes vanished, and he jerked himself away, his eyes wide and confused as he stared at Leonard.

Leonard didn't like it. "What just happened?"

Cisco shook his head. "What the hell does _Zoom_ want with _you_?" Cisco turned on his heel and raced out of Leonard's room. Leonard followed, but Cisco was gone before he could go more than a couple of steps.

"What was that?" Kendra asked. "He didn't even say goodbye."

"I have no idea." Leonard frowned and turned back to his bedroom. When he was alone, he took Barry's number out of his pocket and set it on the small table next to his cot. "Gideon?"

"Yes, Mr. Snart?" Gideon answered, sure and smooth as ever.

"I need all the information you have on a metahuman named 'Zoom.'"

"Search complete. Four results found."

"Only four?" 

Leonard pulled them up on his console. Two articles in the Central City Citizen. Video of Zoom and the Flash on the CCTV in front of STAR Labs. Video shot in the Central City Citizen offices. He hadn't watched the video before, out of a sort of vanity, an assurance that he was going to be the one who eventually defeated the Flash. Choosing to watch it now, though, there was something about Zoom that was viscerally terrifying, something in that voice that made Leonard grip the edges of the console so tightly his knuckles went white.

"Gideon." Leonard was proud that his voice wasn't shaking. The footage in front of him showed him how close Barry had come to dying, and his voice wasn't shaking at all. "I need any other footage. Change search parameters to the day after that video was shot. What else do we know?"

"I apologize, but there is no other information regarding the individual known as Zoom available."

Leonard closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Expand search to all CCTV cameras in Central. Look for blue lightning. Filter vehicles."

"Your request is complete, Mr. Snart. There is no further information regarding the individual known as Zoom available."

Leonard ran his hand over his head again, paused halfway, recognizing it as a nervous gesture that he needed to stop. He dropped his hand to his side. He carefully typed Barry's phone number into the console display. "You said you could remodulate my communicator. Do it. Please."

"Of course, Mr. Snart. It would be my pleasure." One second ticked by. "Remodulation complete."

"Thank you." Leonard pushed away from the console and called Barry.

It rang four times before Barry picked up. "Hi! Barry Allen here."

"Hey. It's me." Leonard closed his eyes, as if he could ignore the fact that he was reaching out to Barry like he mattered.

"I— Wow, you're really— Okay, no, hold on," Barry said, talking to Leonard and someone in the background. There was the sound of a door closing, and then Barry was back on the line. He was breathless. "Hey."

"You wanted me to call you." Leonard kept quiet about the fact that he hadn't intended on calling in the first place.

"You're right. I did," Barry said warmly. "What's up?"

"Waverider's repaired. I'm giving you my number. Try not to miss me too much."

"Too late," Barry laughed. "When you're not killing people or torturing my friends, it's kind of fun to go up against you."

"Hope you're still thinking that when I come back." Leonard could feel himself smiling. He couldn't believe this is what he had come to, smiling like an idiot over this kid. "There's a diamond or two that have piqued my interest."

"I'm not surprised," Barry said. "Hey, I have to go, but thanks. For calling."

"You're welcome, Barry. Stay safe." Leonard ended the call and took a second to resituate himself and his mindset. He took his cold gun apart, cleaned it and put it back together, the familiarity of the routine settling him, and then he went out.

Most of the team was in their seats, so Leonard took his customary seat next to Mick and fastened himself in. "Where to?"

"There's an ancient, medieval dagger that needs to be stolen back in 1872," Hunter said, casting a small smile over at Mick and Leonard. "We could try that, if you think you're up for it."

"Please," Leonard scoffed. "Mick and I can do that in five minutes."

"Ten," Mick responded instantly, because he liked to be contrary.

"Let's make it a bet," Sara said on Leonard's right. "I have twenty bucks I need to take off you some day, Mick."

"It ain't gonna happen today, lady," Mick said, and then the time corridor opened, and they didn't have a chance for more banter.

~*~


	5. The Iceman Cometh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was something intensely satisfying about a well-done robbery. Leonard hadn't found anything that replaced the rush, the adrenaline, of a perfect plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to dungeonmarm and lady_krysis for the beta. If there are any mistakes left in here, it's definitely not their fault.
> 
> This is a shorter chapter, but it's a necessary bridge for the larger story. I hope you enjoy it!

~*~

There was something intensely satisfying about a well-done robbery. Leonard hadn't found anything that replaced the rush, the adrenaline, of a perfect plan.

"Any time now, Snart," Mick said in his ear.

"So impatient." Leonard smiled at the diamond in front of him, separated by a single cube of glass around it. The house servants were already taken care of, and Leonard relished the anticipation. It was the pregnant pause before a first kiss. That diamond was going to be his.

He clicked a switch on his gun, excitement curling in his stomach, and pulled the trigger. The gun emitted only the thinnest line of cold beam, and Leonard laughed, soft and full of satisfaction at the successful test of his newest setting. The beam froze into the glass, the quietest glass cutter Leonard had ever had the pleasure of using, and he carefully knocked the displaced glass circle out, settling it on top of the display before he reached in and grasped the necklace, pulling it out and holding it to the light so he could admire the blue sparkle. 

Leonard holstered the cold gun, hidden on his hip by his coattails, and then he slipped the diamond necklace into his fitted dinner jacket. "Let's go."

He and Mick eased their way out, Leonard taking point. Then they were out on the street, Leonard smiling as though they had just visited a friend. Mick was wearing his customary frown, and Leonard nudged Mick's arm. They walked away from the house, and Leonard tipped his top hat at a lady and her chaperone as they passed each other on the street. "Smile," Leonard said in undertone to Mick. "You'll get a constable called on us."

"We should get a beer," Mick said, eyeing a tavern hall off to their right. "Maybe something to eat."

"If you want to eat something from the 18th century, feel free." Leonard followed Mick in. "I'll wait until I'm on the ship, thanks."

"Elitist." Mick got them a table and raised a hand, bringing one of the servers over, ordering food and two ales. 

Leonard smiled as he watched Mick, a small quirk at the corner of his mouth. "You like this."

"Travelling through time to kill people and do whatever I want?" Mick clarified. "Hell yeah."

Mick's excitement made Leonard think of the diamond in his jacket, how easy it had been. Just the way he wanted it. Travelling through time and doing whatever he wanted. He kind of liked it, too.

When they came back to Waverider, Hunter was waiting for them. "Where have you two been?"

"Mick wanted to eat," Leonard said, and raised his hands, giving Hunter a smile. "We were on our best behavior."

"Right," Hunter muttered, "Gideon, give me an update, if you will?"

"The timeline remains unchanged, Captain," she answered. Leonard smirked, and Hunter shook his head, waving them away. 

Mick muffled a laugh, and they bumped fists before separating to go to their rooms. It was a relief to shed the tight, period-fashionable clothing, to get back into jeans and a sweater. Leonard was still bubbling over with excitement and satisfaction, and he dangled the necklace in the air before him, just to appreciate it. His communicator buzzed, and he accepted the call, transferring audio from his wrist to the earbud he'd started carrying.

" _Please_ tell me that your day has been better than mine," Barry pleaded, and Leonard couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"You might say that." Leonard paused for dramatic effect, because he simply couldn't help himself. "I just stole the Hope Diamond. In 1799."

There was a beat of silence, and Leonard wondered for a second if he shouldn't have told Barry at all. Then Barry started laughing, bright and genuine, and it made Leonard smile again. "Of course," Barry continued. "Of course you would steal it. You're going to steal everything."

"I am," Leonard said, smug and sure. "It's going to be great." 

"You're going to give it back, right? Now that you've had your fun?"

"I'll show it to Lisa first." Leonard sat on his bed, back against the headboard. "Then I'll convince Hunter we desperately need to go to 1819, sell it, and history will remain unchanged."

"You're something else," Barry said, voice tinged with a mix of amusement and affection.

"You're just jealous. Can't stop me if you're not here."

"When are you coming back, anyway?" Barry asked plaintively.

"Before we have this conversation," Leonard promised, and Barry laughed again. After a moment of quiet, Leonard continued. "You called me, Red. What happened?"

"Zoom sent another meta after us." Barry sighed. "Cisco called her the Human Block, I don't even know. She kicked my ass."

"You're okay?" Without even asking, Gideon pulled up all known information about the Human Block. Leonard would have been embarrassed if anyone else had known.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Barry said. "We got her back to her own dimension. She was just hard. Literally. She slowed down molecules so much that running through air felt like I was trying to go through a brick wall."

Leonard rubbed his face. "You had to run into those metaphorical brick walls once or twice before you figured it out."

"I... Yeah, you're right. I did." Leonard didn't say anything, and Barry hastened to fill the silence. "But I heal fast! So I'm okay!"

Leonard sighed at that. "Barry, you're fast, but you need to be more caref—" He cut himself off and jerked up, listening intently. Carter was upset about something, his voice getting louder. "I have to go."

"Don't hang up o—" Leonard disconnected the call and headed for the door.

"He was _right there_ , Chay'ara," Carter growled. "We have the opportunity to take him out for good! Right now!"

"And destroy the fabric of time," Hunter said. "If you and Kendra kill him now, you have no idea what's going to happen. You will cease to exist. Every incarnation of you between now and the present will _cease_ to _exist_. Everything that Savage has done between now and the present will be undone."

"And it will make the world a better place," Carter insisted. "We would stop Napoleon's empire. The Holocaust—"

"Is that true?" Leonard asked, his voice hard and cold. 

"Have you forgotten how powerful Savage is?" Hunter demanded. "He is responsible for _countless_ atrocities. If you try to take him down now, he will slaughter you all." Hunter ran a hand through his hair and paced the length of the room. "How many times must I tell you? We _cannot_ make drastic changes like this in history. Even if we — somehow — managed to defeat him here, time would recoil with something worse. And we would be as ill-prepared then as we are now."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Carter said. "Whatever the world is without him, it shall be better."

"That's not your decision," Sara said sharply. "If we kill Savage now, you'll be dead. It won't matter to you anymore. The rest of us, we're going to have to live in the mess we make."

"I'm not here for a lesson in time ethics," Mick said, rolling his eyes. "You guys figure out where you want me to shoot, come get me." He headed back into his room and shut the door.

Leonard gritted his teeth, counted to ten, flexed his fingers. "You heard Hunter, Hall. We can't risk it."

Carter scoffed. "Of course. You're agreeing with him _now_. Anything to disagree with me."

"I agree with him when he's right," Leonard said tightly, and he drew his gun, aimed it center mass at Carter. "Sit. Down."

Kendra stepped between them, raising a hand and resting it against the barrel of Leonard's gun, guiding it down. "We can't resort to fighting each other because we disagree." She turned to Carter and frowned. "You know we can't."

Carter glared at her, and then released a long breath, taking a seat and steepling his fingers. "He's so close, Chay'ara. It _burns_ me."

"I know." Kendra squeezed Carter's shoulder and looked over at Leonard, giving him a small shake of her head. Leonard holstered his gun and pushed past Sara to go to the exit.

"Where are you going?" Sara asked.

"Outside. I'll be careful." Leonard went out into the cool evening air and took a deep breath, rolling his shoulders. He wasn't like Mick. He wasn't going to go in and punch Hall. He was going to take his time. He was going to keep a cool head.

In what was quickly starting to become a habit, he dialed Barry's number. The kid always answered in two rings, unless he was at work or stopping crime as the Flash. Leonard shouldn't know that. If he were smart, he would hang up.

"Len?" Barry asked, and he was worried. Of course he was worried.

"Yeah. Sorry, the Hawks were fighting again." There was an abrupt, subtle crackle directly behind Leonard's head, a sudden pulse of cold, and his hand automatically fell to his holster.

"Hands up." Leonard knew that voice instantly, knew the sound and inflection of it as intimately as he knew himself. Leonard raised his hand off his cold gun. "Tell him everything is fine."

"Don't worry, Barry," Leonard said. "We don't get along as well as your friends."

"I can't believe you've lasted as long as you have," Barry said. "I'm proud of you guys."

"Tell him that you have to go. Naturally. We can't let him suspect anything."

Leonard swallowed. "You're proud because you don't know any better. I have to go. I just wanted to say goodnight."

"Thanks. I miss you."

There was a long pause in which Leonard waited to hear the end of the call, and then he realized what Barry was waiting for. "You're killing me. I miss you too, brat."

"You're getting better at that," Barry teased, smug and completely ridiculous. "Good night." That time, the line went dead in Leonard's ear, and Leonard lowered his hands, slow and careful.

"Turn around."

Leonard took a step forward and pivoted, releasing his gun smoothly from the holster as he spun around to face himself. He took in every detail and frowned. "You don't have our gun." It was eerie, standing directly in front of himself, and he tightened his finger on the trigger.

"No. I don't." The other Leonard was older, maybe fifteen years, give or take. He didn't have his gun, but he _was_ still wearing the parka. Cold was radiating from his palm; the crackle Leonard had heard was the sound of the water in the air freezing, humidity falling to the ground as ice. Leonard took a slow, careful step to the side, and they circled each other.

"When did we become a metahuman?"

"Doesn't matter. You're not asking the right questions."

Leonard shrugged. "Can't trust you're me. Tell me something only we know."

The other Leonard lowered his hand. "We planted the evidence that sent our father to jail."

Leonard tilted his head and holstered his gun. "Why are you here?"

"It doesn't matter. Nothing matters, except for this." The other Leonard slid his gloved hand into his coat and withdrew a gem. Leonard's breath caught as he looked at it. He had never seen a stone so blue.

"What _is_ that?" Leonard reached out to touch it, and the other Leonard stepped away, pulling it out of reach.

"It's a piece of Heartstone. Listen carefully." Leonard ripped his eyes away from the jewel to watch the other him. He was intent, serious, and it made Leonard stiffen, looking at himself more cautiously. "This will grant one wish."

Leonard arched an eyebrow. "A wish."

"I know how it sounds." The other Leonard pulled a small black bag from his parka and dropped the stone inside, cinching the drawstring tight. "You need to trust me."

Leonard remained relaxed, his hands at his sides, although his fingers itched to hold his gun again. "I assume you're going to tell me what to wish for."

The other Leonard narrowed his eyes in frustration. "I can't do that. It's against the rules of its magic."

"Magic," Leonard said flatly. "I don't think so. You can keep your present."

"Please." There was something in his sly voice, something pained and vulnerable, and Leonard didn't like it at all. "You need to take the Heartstone. You can fix everything before it's too late."

Leonard crossed his arms over his chest. "So something bad happens. Hunter keeps telling us that when we change time, it gives us something worse."

"I don't care about my future," the other Leonard said, simple and sure. "There's no other choice."

"What else can you tell me?" Leonard asked. "When do I use it? How do I use it?"

The other Leonard exhaled a short breath. "You'll know. The Heartstone will react only to genuine need. I searched for this thing for ten years, but you're the one who has to use it."

"What makes it so important?" Leonard asked, gesturing at the bag in the other Leonard's hand. He didn't like anything about this encounter, and it was leaving him itchy and restless. He wanted to go back to the Waverider and leave whatever the hell this was behind.

"The Heartstone a fixed magical point in the universe. It's one of the few things strong enough to do what we need it to do." The older Leonard held out the bag, offering it to Leonard. "Don't touch it until you're sure it's time."

"This is very imprecise," Leonard said, thoroughly unimpressed. He accepted the bag anyway.

"Magic is difficult to predict."

Leonard nodded and ran through the few reasons he would be willing to go through so much trouble. The obvious answer came immediately, and Leonard took a step forward, heart clenching in his chest. "Lisa. Did something happen to her?"

The older Leonard shook his head, a slow movement from side to side. "No. Lisa's safe."

Leonard blinked and felt the realization sink into him, stunning him into silence. He averted his eyes, instinctively wanted to deny it, but he'd always made an effort to be honest with himself, even when he lied to everyone else. "Barry."

"Snart, what's taking you so long?" Mick bellowed from the hatch of Waverider, and Leonard startled, looking back at the ship. He wasn't surprised when he turned back to find his future self gone. Leonard clenched his hand into a fist, shaking for a second, and then tucked the small bag into the inner pocket of his parka before he turned back toward Waverider.

"Yelling for me from the open hatch of a camouflaged time ship isn't subtle, Mick."

"Should have come in the first time," Mick said. "It's like calling my mom's dumb cat in." Mick punched Leonard's shoulder in a friendly way. "You're the dumb cat."

"Right," Leonard said without any heat, and the hatch closed behind him. The stone pulsed against his side, echoing his heartbeat, and Leonard flexed his fingers.

"Hey." Mick stared down at Leonard for a second, his face pulling into a frown. "What's wrong with you?"

"I have a lot on my mind, Mick." Leonard rubbed his forehead. He wasn't overwhelmed, not exactly, but there were only so many times you could meet a version of yourself before you started wondering what the hell you were doing with your life. "Do you remember the first job we did? Not with my dad. The two of us."

Mick snorted. "We stole three boxes of Chocolate Babies."

Leonard laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "We ate them all and made ourselves sick. Now, we're on a ship travelling through time. Not bad for a couple of kids from east Central."

"We're here. Enjoy it." Mick cuffed Leonard affectionately, a little heavy handed. "Quit thinking so much."

" _Someone's_ got to," Leonard teased, and he squeezed Mick's shoulder as he passed.

Once he was safely locked into his room, he took the small bag out of the inner pocket of his parka and set it on the bed. Leonard found a pair of gloves, slipped them on, and then shook the bag until the gem fell into the center of his gloved palm. With the stone between his thumb and forefinger, he held it up to the light, entranced as the light shone through. He had seen some sapphires and topaz in the past that were close to the color, but he had never seen such a clarity of stone before. His heart may have skipped a beat.

"Need." Leonard mused, thinking back to that conversation with himself outside Waverider. "I _have_ everything I need." Still, his own warnings and the quiet pulse of magic coming off the Heartstone was enough for Leonard to be concerned, so he slipped the stone back into its bag and tucked it into the inner pocket of his parka again.

Better safe than sorry.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've taken some extreme liberties with the Heartstone, but it is a magical item mentioned in the comics, so I'm just going with it. Hopefully, it didn't come across as too esoteric.


	6. Cold Turkey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leonard had time to make up his mind, and Barry deserved to know where he stood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to dungeonmarm and lady_krysis, as always. They gently help me shape this monster, and I appreciate all of their hard work.
> 
> There is a supporting character death in this chapter, just fyi. <3

~*~

Leonard paced the length of the room, Mick and Sara keeping watch at the door and windows. He patted his gun reassuringly as he peered up at a painting on the wall. He studied it for a few minutes, looking at the different shades of red, but then shook his head and continued his circuit around the room.

"Are you looking for something in particular?" Sara asked. She inspected her nails, but Leonard could sense her eyes on him as he circled the room.

Mick looked up from where he was cleaning his gun, glanced at Leonard, then at the painting. "He's got a boyfriend. Favorite color's probably red." He shrugged at Sara. "He always starts looking for presents when he's sweet on someone."

"Mick—" Leonard warned. 

Sara gave a delighted laugh. "Oh, this is _adorable_. It's the baby cop, right? What's he like?"

"I'm not talking about this," Leonard said calmly. "I don't have a boyfriend, and Mick lies."

The communicator crackled to life on his wrist, and Ray's voice came through. "Wait. Snart has a _boyfriend_? When did this happen? I didn't know you liked people. I thought you just liked stealing!"

"Not entirely inaccurate." Leonard leaned against the wall, glaring at Mick. His communicator buzzed, but he ignored it, refusing to look at his wrist when he was in the middle of a conversation.

Mick glared back at Leonard on principle and then glanced at Leonard's communicator with a smirk. "What's next, Snart? Gonna pick out a wedding cake?"

Leonard ignored Mick, waited until his communicator stopped buzzing, and then opened a line to Waverider. "Hunter, if I'm not killing someone in the next three minutes, I walk."

"You _did_ say that you finally had a mission requiring our 'unique' skills," Sara said. "You could have been lying. You lie about everything else."

"Will you _please_ get over that?" Hunter snapped. "Gideon has the target locked. Mission is a go."

" _Finally_ ," Mick muttered, and was on his feet and out the door before Leonard could say anything. 

Leonard pulled out his gun, casting a look at Sara. "Make sure Mick isn't going to run straight into an ambush."

"And ruin his night?" Sara grinned and vanished through the open window as Leonard followed down the hallway after Mick. 

There was a scream of pain, the smell of cooking flesh and smoking wood. Leonard stalked around the corner, aimed his gun, and pulled the trigger. He froze the burning bannister and then turned the beam onto one of the bodyguards, killing the man in an instant. Mick waded into the fight, laughing with a fierce joy that always made Leonard smile, just a little. Sara finished the remainder of the bodyguards at the foot of the stairs, and Leonard kicked aside the smoking corpse of one of Mick's victims and walked down the stairs to meet her.

"We're done," Sara told Hunter. "Coming back to Waverider."

"Waverider's confirmed the death of the Baron. Good work."

"History says he died in a fire," Leonard told Mick, watching Mick's eyes light up. "Wait until we're out of the house this time?"

"I got it," Mick said. "You've got problems keeping your cool."

"Can't stand the heat," Leonard agreed, and they both laughed.

"I'm stuck in pun hell," Sara muttered. 

That made Mick laugh harder. He kissed his gun barrel before he pulled the trigger, sending swathes of fire into the air. Sara jogged the last few feet to the door, but Leonard watched Mick set the house on fire, the fixated look in Mick's eyes as he watched the flames climb the curtains.

"Okay, Mick. That's enough. _Mick_." Leonard grabbed Mick's arm, and Mick blinked looking around as though he'd forgotten why he was there. "Come _on_." Mick gave a heavy sigh, but he finally turned toward the exit.

Once they left the house, Leonard estimated their distance and encouraged Mick to keep moving, letting Mick turn to watch the house burn once they were safe.

"Pity we don't have any marshmallows," Sara said, and Mick laughed at that, loud and hearty.

Leonard clasped Mick's shoulder and then turned away, eager to leave. Someone would call the authorities, and Leonard had no intention of being there when they came. Waverider flew in to pick them up, and Sara smiled, sauntering into the ship as he and Mick followed behind her.

"Good job," Ray said, bright and cheerful, and Mick dragged him into a headlock, ruffling his hair. They scuffled for a second, and Leonard rolled his eyes, shedding his parka as he vanished into his quarters.

He itched to call Barry, but there was a part of him that was frustrated by that desire. The stone, carefully hidden in the inner lining of his jacket, pulsed with his heartbeat. There wasn't a single moment he wasn't aware of it, aware of the desperation it represented. He rubbed a hand over his face and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Captain Hunter is initiating a meeting," Gideon piped in, and Leonard shook his head.

"No rest for the wicked," he said, and went out of his room to meet with the rest of the group, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall. "Are we getting another lecture on Savage? I'm tired and I could use the lullaby."

"You could stand to be more considerate," Carter said, and Leonard gave a half-hearted shrug.

"I feel _terrible_ for you," Leonard drawled, "but it's still not my problem."

"We all agreed that the point of our mission was to stop Savage," Hunter said, frowning at Leonard.

"I didn't," Mick said with a laugh. "I came along because it's fun."

"Exactly," Leonard agreed. "Will I help you kill him? Sure. Is he the reason I'm here? Not really."

"Hey," Jax said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "We're all on the same team, right? Doesn't matter what his reason is, he's still _here_."

"Let's get back on track," Leonard said, and he looked at Hunter. "You wouldn't have called me and Mick out if you didn't need us, so what's the plan?"

"We're going to systematically strike at Savage's finances," Hunter intoned, and Leonard straightened, eyes narrowing in interest.

"Bank robberies?" Leonard asked, and grinned when Hunter nodded. "How many?"

"A series of ten, I should think," Hunter said. "It won't be enough to cripple his empire, of course, but I believe that if we hit him early enough, we could delay his capital."

"You should've led with that." Leonard prowled over to the table. "Give me a list. I'll work out the timing."

"And while Snart and Rory are working—"

"Hey, I want to go with them," Ray said eagerly, and Leonard and Mick turned in unison to glare at him.

"You're not." Leonard shook his head. "I remember what happened the first time you came along."

"Okay, that? Was seriously forever ago," Ray said. "I can get small! I can unlock doors without leaving fingerprints! It's a good idea."

Leonard hated when Ray Palmer had a valid point.

Hunter gave Leonard an expectant look, and Leonard sighed. "Fine, you can come. You're under my orders. Step one inch out of line and I'll kick your ass."

Ray beamed a cocky smile. "Understood, Captain."

"That leaves the rest of us as a decoy," Hunter said. "Waverider has pinpointed several items that could be useful in our journey, although they aren't necessary, and Savage should be distracted enough with Kendra and Carter so close."

"Great," Leonard said with a brief nod. "He chases the hawks, and Mick and I tie up his money." Gideon pulled up a list of banks that Savage had used over his many, many years, and Leonard stared at it, the adrenaline already clearing his thoughts. "I could be George Leslie. I could be his _inspiration_."

Mick joined Leonard at the table. "Do I need to care who George Leslie is?"

"Philistine," Leonard said with genuine regret, but he made quick work, selecting the most viable targets. Ray joined them at their end of the table. 

Leonard wouldn't have months to case each place, like he preferred, but he thought perhaps that the lower technology and security would make up for it. There were only going to be three of them, but they were three exceptional people, and he was confident that, with their abilities, it would be a cakewalk.

Leonard's wrist buzzed, and he took a datapad, Gideon transferring his information over as he went to his room for privacy. "This is the fourth time you've called."

" _But_ it's the first time you've answered," Barry said. "I missed you. What're you doing?"

"Chill out, kid," Leonard said absently. "I'm planning some robberies."

"Tell me about it?" Barry asked, so Leonard did, using Barry as a sounding board as he made his decisions about which banks to hit, when and where, how much damage it would do to Savage in the long run. 

"It'll be a three person team," Leonard finished. "Should be interesting."

"You're having a blast," Barry said, giving a laugh. "Don't suppose Hunter would let me tag along?"

Leonard scoffed. "No chance. You're much more important than the rest of us."

"We're all important," Barry said, his voice rising, and Leonard laughed again.

"Calm down, Red. I don't need to hear any speeches. Don't you have a metahuman to chase down, or are you done for the night?"

"Done for now. It's been a quiet night. Some muggers, a carjacker."

"Fantastic. Get some rest, kid. I've got burglaries to plan."

Barry sighed. "Good night."

Leonard hesitated for a second and sighed. "All right, what is it?"

"It's nothing, really, I just—" There was a buzz and a thump, and Barry sounded embarrassed when he got back on the line. "Sorry, my speed's a little weird right now."

"You okay?" Leonard asked, careful and guarded. There was the urge to worry, and he took a breath, shoved it into the back of his mind and focused on Barry's voice, his nerves.

"I'm fine, I promise," Barry said. "I'm just not sleeping well."

"You're not sleeping and your superspeed has quirks," Leonard said, his voice softening. "Don't make me worry about you. Caitlin's a doctor. Make her give you some tests."

"There's nothing wrong with me," Barry said defensively. "I just wish that. You were here. With me." He sighed. "Long distance relationships are hard."

Leonard's pulse roared in his ears, drowning out everything else, and he dropped his datapad onto his mattress. "Relationship?"

"Er," Barry fumbled to a stop. There was a tense, awkward silence before he spoke again. "I mean, I thought we... Was I wrong? Of course I was wrong. You said you didn't even do dates and here I am just thinking that— Four dates and some really great sex, I mean, that's a good start, and oh god, don't freak out. Are you freaking out?"

There was an ache in Leonard's chest, and he swallowed, reaching down to grab the datapad again, just to hide the tremor in his fingers. "You aren't wrong, exactly."

"Exactly?" Barry ventured. "What does 'exactly' mean, right now?"

What did Leonard mean? They'd had sex, of course, but that didn't particularly amount to anything. For him. It obviously meant more to Barry than Leonard had expected. What was it like, to move so fast, so fearlessly, without being weighed down by consequences, by the need to have every last thing planned to perfection? Barry wanted things openly, honestly, and Leonard knew that if he was going to have anything with the kid, he'd have to take the risk, too.

He had come to the understanding earlier, when his future self had given him the Heartstone, that Barry Allen was important to him. Moreso, perhaps, than he had been comfortable or willing to admit. He wasn't a coward. He'd had time to make up his mind, and Barry deserved to know where he stood.

"You're not wrong," Leonard said slowly, testing each word on his tongue as he spoke them, "about our relationship. That we _have_ a relationship." He smirked at that. "I talk to you more than I talk to Mick, and we're on the same ship."

Barry laughed, sounding breathless and relieved. "So what does that make us, then? Boyfriends? Partners?"

Leonard winced at the word, remembering Mick's earlier teasing about his preoccupation. "Let's start with casual partners, and see where we go from there." 

"Yeah," Barry agreed, his voice soft and pleased. "Okay, goodbye for real this time."

Leonard said his goodbyes and disconnected the call, taking a minute to mull over what he'd just done. He now had two people waiting on him to come home. That was more of a thrill than he'd expected.

~*~

It started off flawlessly.

They zipped through time like mayflies, Waverider staying just long enough for their heist. Between Leonard's cold gun and Ray's ability to shrink, there was hardly any challenge at all. It still excited Leonard, the ability to simply walk in without having to worry about cameras or silent alarms. It wasn't something that Leonard would like doing for very long, but the novelty was refreshing. They were in and out of the first bank within minutes, with the night watchman clueless as he walked his rounds.

"This bad guy stuff is pretty easy," Ray said as they came back to the Waverider.

"This early," Leonard agreed. "It's refreshing."

"It's boring," Mick cut in. "It's too easy and I can't burn _anything_."

Leonard patted Mick's shoulder. "Ray and I can do this ourselves, if you want to be out there with Firestorm."

"Wait, wait, wait," Jax broke in, his head jerking in their direction. "We're babysitting Mick now?"

"You'll be fine, kid," Leonard said easily. "You already burst into flames."

"Yeah," Jax said with an uncertain grin. "As long as he doesn't want to cuddle, we're good."

"What's wrong with cuddling?" Mick demanded, and Leonard rolled his eyes, stepping away from the two of them and making his way over to Hunter, who was studying a datapad intently.

"Satisfied?" Leonard found himself asking.

"I never doubted your abilities," Hunter said absently, "Only your commitment."

Leonard hummed at that, unable to argue. "Are we leaving now?"

Hunter shook his head. "We'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon. Jax and I are going to go over some of our repairs, and we all need a break from the last jump."

"I still think it's a bad idea to do this chronologically," Leonard said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning closer to steal a look at the datapad. "He'll figure it out."

"That's very likely," Hunter agreed, the corner of his mouth pulling down into a frown. "But there are any number of things that could go wrong if we _don't_ do it chronologically. That doesn't even take into consideration the damage our bodies will take from the rapid time change. We'll simply have to be on our guard."

Leonard shook his head, but let the discussion rest. He needed to relax, so he retreated into his room and took his cold gun out of the holster, carefully taking it apart and cleaning it before putting it back together. He loved every part of the process, the way it came to life beneath his hands, and by the time he was done, fitting the firing pin into place, the rest of the residual adrenaline from his heist had faded

The next morning, Leonard left Waverider before the others were awake. It was early enough in the century that Leonard could fence the Hope Diamond and allow it to take its natural place in the timeline, and although he _wanted_ to show the necklace to Lisa, he didn't know when he would have the opportunity to get rid of the diamond again. He took his time to find someone to take it off his hands and then went to a bank, using the money from the sale and some of the money he'd stolen last night to open an interest-bearing trust under one of his favorite pseudonyms. He didn't actually _need_ the money at all, and could end up quite possibly losing all of it in the years of the American Depression and the first and second world wars, but it was a risk he was willing to take. He debated on whether to ask Gideon to check the timeline and see if he succeeded, but ultimately decided against it. The thrill of success would be bigger if he didn't already know the answer.

"Gideon?" Leonard asked as he came back to the ship.

"Yes, Mr. Snart?"

"Track the timeline for the Hope Diamond. Does it still show up in the Hope catalogue?"

"The timeline remains intact, Mr. Snart. Barry will be pleased." Leonard didn't think he'd ever heard a computer sound so smug.

"Too soon, Gideon," he said shortly, heading for his room so he could stash the trust papers and his identification.

"My apologies, Mr. Snart."

Leonard sighed and shook his head before rejoining the rest of his teammates in the cockpit. He arched an eyebrow when Mick gave him a wide, manic smile. "So they _are_ going to let you burn the money."

"Damn right they are," Mick agreed, voice warm with satisfaction as he settled back into his seat. "I'm thinking a bonfire. I'll burn everything all at once."

"You do that, big guy," Sara said cheerfully, reaching out and punching Mick in the shoulder, and it struck Leonard again how strange the entire thing was. They were all getting more comfortable with each other, more aware of their boundaries. Leonard could depend on these people, if he wanted to.

"Everyone, make sure you're strapped in," Hunter called out over his shoulder, and he began the temporal wormhole connection.

The second burglary went just fine with Leonard and Ray, in and out so fast that Leonard almost couldn't believe it. Leonard was a world class thief, but Ray was a complete amateur, although he could be good at thievery if he kept his head cool.

Waverider stayed in that time period for several days to give them a chance to breathe, and then it was onto the next one. That one wasn't a challenge either, and it left Leonard feeling vaguely dissatisfied. By now, the pile of money was larger than Mick could resist, so they took a break outside of a small town, hidden in a large clearing in the center of a forest, and let Mick torch it. Between Leonard's gun and Firestorm, they didn't have to worry about starting an uncontrolled fire, so they grabbed blankets and food and had an impromptu picnic instead. It wasn't Leonard's thing, so he hung back, grabbed a beer, and let the others enjoy it.

He talked with Gideon about the next burglary, walking himself through the steps, annoyed that he was already getting bored of them. It was too easy. That was the problem. His gun, his technology — it wasn't fair, and it tipped the scales too far in his favor to be fun. 

Leonard heard movement near the door and spared a glance to find Kendra there, leaning against the entrance.

"It's interesting," she said after a minute, and Leonard looked at her again.

"Okay. I'll bite." He wheeled his chair around, datapad in one hand and his beer in the other. "What's interesting?"

"You're always doing something," she said. "Planning, making a heist, vanishing into whatever city we're visiting. Rip keeps telling us to leave you alone, but I'm worried. Everyone needs to take a break sometime."

Leonard arched his eyebrow at that information, both the worry and Hunter having his back. "I relax in Central. It's my city." He thought about it for a second and then shrugged before continuing, a little more honestly, "I relax in big cities. National. Gotham. Metropolis. Places where I'm just another face."

Kendra nodded. "I can understand. When I moved to Central, I could... feel it, I guess. The energy of the city. It's a good place. I would have liked to stay, but destiny is kind of unavoidable." Kendra gestured at herself, still in partial armor, although they were supposed to be relaxing.

Leonard shook his head. "Destiny. Fate. It's all crap." Kendra arched an eyebrow at him. "Just because you remember who you are and what you did as Chay'ara doesn't mean you have to do the same things as Kendra."

Kendra looked away, out of the open hatch, and Leonard took a drink of his beer. "Thank you," she said, looking back at him. "Carter gets so intense that sometimes I forget who I am _now_. We have to kill Savage. We have to end the cycle. After that, the future's brand new."

"It's a better way to think," Leonard agreed, and he thought again of that night in the clearing, of the Heartstone waiting to be used. 

Kendra gave a soft laugh and shook her head. "That was really weird. Captain Cold just gave me good advice."

Leonard shrugged. "I'm a criminal. It's what I do. Who I am. Doesn't mean I can't see how I got here."

"Have you ever thought about _not_ being a criminal?"

"Don't push your luck," Leonard said, but Kendra raised a hand in defense.

"Seriously, though. You don't have to steal to get that kick you're looking for. Cisco's always talking about what a rush it is to help Barry."

"Out. We're done." Leonard dropped his eyes back to his datapad.

Kendra smiled at him "I forget sometimes that the Flash is a sore subject with you." Still, she turned and left the entrance to rejoin the rest of the team. Leonard made another adjustment to his equipment for the next heist and turned his back to the open door.

~*~

Leonard took a slow, deep breath, his ear pressed to the safe, and turned the safe dial, listening to the _click-click-click_ as he waited for the last tumbler to fall into place. He heard the soft _thunk_ of the vault opening. Two hundred and twenty-eight seconds. It wasn't his best time, but it was damned good for a first attempt. 

He opened the vault just enough to slip inside and set out his bag. There was more than just paper money in here. On first glance, Leonard could see savings bonds, jewels, some safety deposit boxes. He tossed a few bundles of money into his bag and continued to move around the room, looking for anything that Gideon had identified as part of Savage's assets.

The communicator crackled to life, and Leonard winced, hissed in a breath at how _loud_ everything was.

"Snart!" Hunter yelled in Leonard's ear, "Abort mission! Retreat to Waverider!"

"What's going on?" Leonard hissed, already springing into action. He zipped up the bag and threw it over his shoulder, sliding into the vault entrance and closing it, spinning the safe dial to reset the combination.

"Savage has found us—" Sara's voice, that time, followed by Hunter's again.

"To Waverider, as fast as you can. We'll need to jump as soon as we're in. Gideon, begin autopilot. Lock onto Snart. He's closest."

"Understood, Captain," Gideon answered smoothly.

Leonard skirted around a corner, waited for the guard to pass, and then darted silently toward the back door. "Belay that, Gideon!" he said as soon as he was out of the bank. "They're under fire, get them first. I'm safe, no one has any idea I'm here."

"I agree, Mr. Snart. Adjusting course to intercept now." 

Leonard itched to have his ice gun in his hand, but even if he had brought it with him on his mission, it wouldn't have done the rest of them any good. He took another deep breath, flexed his fingers. He wasn't going to give into anxiety. His communicator was active, and he could hear every sound the other members of his team made. Mick was laughing, as he always laughed whenever he got to use his gun; there was the whistle of Firestorm flying in superheated air, the roar of his flame; Sara screaming in her bloodlust. It was a cacophony, and Leonard was intensely disappointed that he'd missed it.

And in the next second, he wasn't.

Kendra shrieked, a blood-curdling, agonized sound that made the adrenaline race in Leonard's blood, made his skin prickle with the urge to do _something_. He ran a hand over his head, pacing back and forth. There was too much chatter on the communicators— He couldn't make sense of what he was hearing.

"Gideon, silence communicators and give me an ETA," Leonard ordered

"I must remind you that you are not my captain, Mr. Snart," Gideon said, but then there was silence when the communicators cut off. "ETA is three minutes." 

One hundred and eighty seconds. The timer immediately started counting down in Leonard's head, and with it, he felt focused, in control. "What happened?"

"Carter Hall has been injured," Gideon stated. "I'm unable to give you a further diagnosis at this time."

"Keep me updated."

"Of course, Mr. Snart," Gideon agreed. Leonard felt a little more relaxed with Gideon on his side. The AI was smart and kept a cool head. 

Leonard kept himself to the shadows so that he wouldn't draw the attention of any passersby and kept the count running in his head.

"I have arrived, Mr. Snart," Gideon said, and Leonard was pleased to hear that her arrival was a good twenty seconds early. "Carter Hall's condition upgraded to critical. All team members accounted for. I'm now proceeding to your location. ETA ninety seconds."

Leonard could already see Waverider closing in, but he waited for the entrance ramp to lower before he sprinted into the ship, the door closing behind him immediately. He took a second to catch his breath and then looked around the empty cockpit. Judging by the noise, they were in the medbay. He was uncharacteristically indecisive, not sure if he should wait for everything to calm down or if he should go check on the others. When he drew closer, however, he could hear the agitation in Hunter's voice, the clear calm sound of Gideon responding, Kendra's shattered voice, harsh and cracking still from the force of her scream.

Carter was convulsing on the bed, red-black blood soaking into the sheets as Hunter and Ray struggled to remove Carter's armor. Ray made a sound of triumph when they reached the final latch, and Rip flung the armor away, already ripping Carter's undershirt to get at his injury. Kendra clung to Carter's hand, shoulders shaking from the force of her tears, and Jax stepped up to her, talking to her in a low voice that Leonard couldn't quite hear. Kendra shook her head, clutching Carter's hand closer to her chest.

"Chay'ara," Carter gasped. Blood bubbled over his lips as he coughed and retched and tried to get enough air to breathe. Leonard turned his face away for a second, inhaling a shaky breath. Guns were quick — one of the main reasons Leonard preferred them — but stab wounds always made his stomach churn. Those were never easy.

"I'm here," Kendra wept. "Hold on, we're going to help, Gideon's going to help—"

"I love—" Carter choked out. "Kendra, I love—"

"I know, I know. Shhh," Kendra pleaded. She disentangled one of her hands from Carter's to stroke her fingers over his sweaty forehead, down his cheek. "I love you, too."

"Captain, I can't stabilize him," Gideon said.

Dr. Stein pulled Kendra away as gently as he could, and Jax took her by the shoulder, coaxing her over to one of the sinks to wash the blood off her hands. It made Leonard intensely aware of how awkwardly he, Sara, and Mick were, standing around without anything to do or any way to help. Leonard averted his eyes again. The best thing that he could do was leave the room, so he did, going to the empty mess hall and taking a seat on the long bench. He hadn't particularly cared about Carter, one way or the other, but seeing the trauma up close had shaken Leonard.

After a couple of minutes, Mick joined him. It was one of those moments Leonard occasionally had, where he was suspended between two equal possibilities and wasn't sure what it was he was waiting for. Was he waiting for Dr. Stein and Ray to say Carter had pulled through, or was he holding a death vigil? It was Schrodinger's hawk.

It was when Sara joined them that Leonard knew. He exhaled.

"He's gone," she said softly. It was as simple as that.

"Sucks for Kendra," Mick said roughly, trying, in his own way, to be sympathetic.

"He was a jerk," Sara said, staring down at the table, "but he didn't— They didn't deserve this."

"They got to say goodbye. A lot of people don't get that chance." Leonard stood, his thoughts buzzing like static in his mind. He left the room to go back to the medbay. Carter was covered respectfully with a sheet, and Kendra was seated by his side, still holding his hand. Leonard took one of the other chairs and sat next to her, waiting silently in case she had anything she needed to say.

"If I kill Savage," Kendra finally said after several long minutes, "Khufu will never come back to me. If I don't kill him, the blood of his victims will be on my hands. This wasn't the future I wanted, Len."

"I know."

"I couldn't be happy with him," Kendra continued. "I was too angry. And now he's gone, and I'm... still so angry." She scrubbed furiously at her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I don't know how to forgive him."

"Then don't forgive him," Leonard said, and she jerked in surprise, looking at him with wide eyes, red and irritated from her tears. "He's gone. You don't have to do anything."

Hunter came up behind them and rested a hand on Kendra's shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze. "Savage wil try to sense your location, so I've instructed Gideon to keep us moving. We'll stay here in this time for a couple of days. Give Carter a proper funeral. Then we'll all work on a plan to take him out."

"There's a problem," Leonard said.

"Why am I not surprised that Leonard Snart has a problem?" Hunter sighed, looking up at the ceiling as though Gideon might be able to give him strength. "Go on. What are you thinking now?"

The static listlessness of Leonard's thoughts had ended. The moment of indecision had passed. He was calm, collected, and knew exactly what needed to be done.

"I quit."

~*~


	7. Keeping His Cool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Gideon," Leonard said, smiling to himself. "A lady like you could make a guy lose his cool."
> 
> "Mr. Snart," Gideon said crisply, "flattery will get you nowhere with me. Stay frosty."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, as always, to dungeonmarm and lady_krysis for their awesome betawork.
> 
> I'm also really sorry it took so long to get this chapter out--chapter 8 took forever to get completed, and I hate not being a little ahead in the story when I post. I hope it's worth the wait. <3

~*~

There was a moment of silence, and then Ray said, "I'm sorry. _What_?"

"Man." Jax shook his head, turning away from them and running his hands over his head. "We've lost Carter and now we're losing you, too? This sucks."

"The only real surprise is that you thought he'd stay," Dr. Stein said, as blandly as if he were discussing a change in the weather.

Leonard stood and put his chair back in its place. "We had an understanding. We're out when we want out."

"Before we were _friends_ ," Kendra said, her voice low and tight. "How dare you? How dare you try to _comfort_ me, and then just—" She shook with her rage for a moment, and Leonard wondered if she was going to hit him. Instead, she pushed her chair away and hugged herself, staring down at Carter's body.

"Friendship has nothing to do with it," Leonard said. "There are things I need to do. I can't do them while I'm here."

"Right," Ray scoffed. "And _of course_ you came to your realization the second one of us died. Coward."

Leonard's mouth tightened, and he dropped his hand down to where his holster usually sat on his hip. His gun was in his room. Ray was lucky.

"What's going on?" Mick stomped up to Leonard's side and glared at Ray. "Do I need to fry someone?"

"It's fine, Mick," Leonard said.

Ray laughed, gesturing at the two of them. "You want to fry someone? Talk to your buddy. He's the one leaving."

Mick folded his arms over his chest and frowned at Leonard. "What's going on, Snart?"

"I'm leaving," Leonard said, just as calmly as the first time. He didn't owe anyone his reasons.

"If you're leaving, they'll make me leave, too." That wasn't what Leonard expected to hear from Mick, but he wasn't necessarily surprised. Mick had been very vocal about how much he loved travelling in the Waverider.

Leonard shook his head. "No, they won't. You listen to Sara. You're friends with Firestorm. You'll be okay."

"I think," Hunter said, speaking for the first time, "that we are all blowing this out of proportion. Mr. Snart, may I speak to you privately?"

Leonard shrugged. "As long as I can pack while you talk."

Hunter nodded and headed out the door. Mick seized Leonard's arm as he was about to follow, and Leonard patted his shoulder. "You'll be fine, Mick."

Mick frowned, but let Leonard go.

Leonard found Hunter waiting for him in his room, and he took his duffle bag from the closet, sliding his identification and trust papers into the bottom of the bag, his back turned toward Hunter. Other than those important documents, he didn't have very much. He'd only taken one or two changes of clothing, unaware at the beginning that Gideon and Waverider would generate the clothes they needed for their missions.

"How much time do you need?" Hunter finally asked, and Leonard paused, tilting his head.

"You think this is temporary."

"I think," Hunter corrected, "that Carter's death frightened you. We are out in a void. There is no one to rescue us, and if we all die, there will be no one left to tell the people we care about what happened to us." He paused. "Mick could tell Lisa if something happened to you, but no one would even think about Barry."

"Gideon told you," Leonard said flatly.

"My apologies, Mr. Snart," Gideon said, "but I did warn you that Captain Hunter had access to all communications."

"I didn't listen to all of them," Hunter said. If he was attempting to reassure Leonard, he was failing. "I only listened to the first few conversations to make sure you weren't attempting to sabotage our mission." Hunter cleared his throat and Leonard shot him a glare. "He's a very charming boy. I can understand—"

"Do you have a point?" Leonard asked, zipping up his duffle bag.

"My point is that I know you've been gathering information on his enemies. He defeats Zoom on his own, Snart. He doesn't need your help."

"Does he?" Leonard asked. "Gideon, confirm timeline."

"I am unable to comply, Mr. Snart."

"It's okay, Gideon," Hunter said. "Tell him what he wants to know."

"I apologize, Captain," Gideon said. "I am unable to confirm Barry Allen's fate with the information at my disposal."

"How is that possible?" Hunter asked.

"I do recall advising you on the temporal flux in their present," Gideon said crisply, the closest to annoyed that Leonard had ever heard her.

"Yes—" Hunter began, dismissively, and then his eyes widened, a flush of embarrassment rising up his neck. "Yes, I... forgot to check back in with you on that."

"It hasn't been a priority, Captain," Gideon responded.

Leonard grabbed the datapad he'd been using to research Zoom, handing it to Hunter. "Here's everything I've learned. He's from an alternate reality. I think he's causing the problem." Leonard looked around the room one final time to make sure he hadn't left anything behind and then focused on Hunter again. "This isn't a request."

"Are you sure about this?" Hunter asked, still scanning the meager data Leonard had been able to collect.

"Yes," Leonard said, giving a short nod. "I need you to drop me off the night we originally left."

"Snart." Hunter lowered the datapad and narrowed his eyes, his forehead wrinkling in concern. "That was five months ago."

"I'm aware."

"You won't be able to change anything that you were involved in," Hunter said, still slow and concerned, as though he hadn't said it several times over the course of their travels. "You may run into us on one of our missions."

Leonard shook his head. "I can keep a low profile. It's just like any other job. I need time to case the situation. I can do this, Hunter. I can stop Zoom."

Hunter crossed his arms over his chest and rubbed at his chin. "May I suggest a compromise?"

"I'm listening." 

"I'll give you six months," Hunter said. "At the end of that, we'll come back. If you aren't prepared to join us again, we'll consider the matter closed and move on."

Six months to case Barry and his friends, Zoom's tactics, the metahumans Zoom kept sending against Barry. "Make it seven, and we'll have a deal," Leonard said instead. That would be more than enough time to figure out a way to stop Zoom before he destroyed the future.

"Agreed." Hunter watched Leonard a moment longer. "You've changed, you know. It's a good change."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Now you're laying it on thick. Let's go." 

Hunter laughed, a soft, private huff of sound, and followed Leonard out of the room. "Gideon, please gather everyone to the war room. We all need to talk."

"Understood, Captain."

Leonard stalked into the war room first and took a seat at the table, reclining back as though he didn't care about anything that was about to be said. The others filtered in one by one, looking angrier than Leonard thought that they had any reason to be.

"I want us to be completely clear," Hunter said, looking at each member of the team in turn. "Snart _does_ have something he needs to do." He raised a hand when Sara opened her mouth. "I'm not at liberty to discuss it. If he wants you to know, he'll tell you."

"I don't want you to know," Leonard said, flat and immediate.

"At any rate," Hunter continued before someone could say anything nasty, "we'll be dropping him off and then making a small time jump, no missions. At that point, we'll make a final decision on whether or not Mr. Snart will rejoin us."

After a moment, Ray said, "That... doesn't sound so bad." 

"Are you staying for Carter's funeral?" Kendra asked, eyes hard as she stared across the table at Leonard.

"Of course I am," Leonard agreed.

Kendra sucked in a breath, her shoulders relaxing. "Fine, then. I don't know why you couldn't say that in the first place. Did you have to be so dramatic?"

Leonard arched an eyebrow. "You _have_ met me."

"More importantly," Hunter said, "we have to decide on what we're going to do with Carter. We can't exactly build a sarcophagus and give him a prince's funeral."

Kendra shook her head and looked down at her hands. "Maybe we could build a pyre. I know Mick could do it."

"Good," Jax said, and Dr. Stein reached over to squeeze his shoulder. "Because I don't think I could."

Leonard saw Mick straighten where he was standing. "There won't be anything left when I'm done."

"Excellent, Mr. Rory," Hunter said. "Let's take care of the other preparations."

Leonard pushed away from the table first and headed toward the exit. Mick followed him, probably more out of habit than anything else. Jax and Dr. Stein stayed behind with Kendra, but Ray and Sara followed them out.

"Ray and I will build it, if you'll clear a place to hold the funeral safely," Sara said, looking around at the place where Gideon had chosen to land Waverider.

"Man," Ray said, shaking his head as he looked at the three of them. "I don't get any of you. He's dead, shouldn't you be upset? At least a little?"

"He's dead." Sara closed her eyes and swallowed. "The dead don't give a damn what you do."

"You want to cry, go cry," Mick said. "We've got work to do." Leonard shrugged a shoulder at Ray, because when Mick was right, he was right, and then turned away, shading his eyes from the sunlight as he searched for an appropriate spot.

The clearing was a little small, with Waverider taking up most of it, but there was room to clear a spot. Leonard walked, counted out the feet to make sure they wouldn't be too close to the pyre when it lit up, and used his cold gun to mark an outline for Mick. "Now you can burn it."

"With pleasure," Mick said, and he lit the grass on fire as Leonard contained the burn with his icy perimeter. They worked in silence, for the most part, broken only by the whoosh of Mick's gun when he fired another jet of flame. When they were done burning the area clean, Mick blew on the hot nozzle of his gun before slipping it into its holster. "So you're going."

Leonard nodded. "At least for now."

Mick grunted at that. "Never thought you'd quit. I'm getting the better part of the deal."

Leonard smirked, thought about how much fun it had actually been to run around in time with Mick, and also about Barry, the kid who was going to get himself killed if Leonard didn't do something about it. "Yeah. For once."

Mick stared down at the charred ground. "Keep the bracelet."

Leonard arched his eyebrow. "I figured Hunter would want the communicator back."

"Keep it," Mick said firmly. "If you need any help with—whatever—I'll bust some heads and turn them around."

"Thanks." 

They stepped away from from the circle and turned back toward the ship, Mick waving one big hand in the air to catch Sara's attention. Between the four of them, they managed to build a sturdy thing that would serve their needs, and then they went to get Kendra and the others.

Kendra had washed Carter clean of blood and removed his armor and weapons before wrapping him back up in a sheet. She refused to let anyone help her as she carried his body out of the ship and set it on the funeral pyre. 

"I hate you, and I love you, Carter," Kendra said, loud enough for the rest of them to hear, although they all courteously looked away and pretended they couldn't. "If the Gods see fit to bring you back to me, I promise I'll get it figured out. If not, then... I hope your rest is peaceful." She stepped away and took a deep breath, giving Mick a nod. Sara draped her arm around Kendra's shoulders and squeezed her in a hug as Mick shot his gun. The pyre lit up instantly, the Planck temperature of Mick's gun more effective than tinder, and they all remained respectfully silent as Carter's body burned to ashes.

Leonard stood there and watched until the pyre crumbled and burned itself out, and then he and Mick traded places, the remains going from absolute hot to absolute cold to absolute hot again until it crumbled under the onslaught, until nothing was left but ashes and bare earth.

They were the last ones who went back to Waverider, and they didn't bother to say anything, separating and going to their rooms. Leonard immediately stripped off his clothes, smelling too much like smoke and burned flesh, and took a shower. Then he took another one, letting the shower spray pummel the tension out of his shoulders and neck. He left the shower stall only when Gideon cut off his water and then sat on his bed, leaning his head back against the headboard, closing his eyes. His fingers moved over the communicator for just a moment, but he hesitated before lowering his hand.

He needed to get to sleep anyway. He anticipated having a rough seven months ahead of him. 

~*~

Waverider shuddered to a stop, and Leonard unlatched the chair harness, pushing it up and reaching for the bag at his feet. The others all stood as well, and it made him nervous, his eyes skittering from one person to the other. Kendra came up to him first and gave him a hug, holding Leonard tight, and he hesitated for a second before he curled a hand around her waist and hugged her back. "Stay safe," she murmured, and when she pulled back, Sara was there to take her place, punching him affectionately in the shoulder.

"You're going to see me in five minutes," Leonard said dryly.

"You could be dead in five minutes," Ray pointed out, and then he frowned at himself, clearing his throat. "Not that, you know, you'll die or anything."

" _Very_ reassuring," Leonard said, staring at Ray.

"Ignore Raymond." Dr. Stein shook his head.

"See you in five, I guess," Jax said, giving Leonard a shrug and a wave.

Mick didn't hug him, and Leonard was grateful. Instead, Mick just gave Leonard a look and pointed at his communicator. "Call if you need me."

"I sincerely appreciate the thought." Leonard pushed his duffle bag over his shoulder and headed toward the door.

"We'll see you in seven months, Mr. Snart," Hunter said, and then Leonard was out. He heard the whir of the door closing, of Waverider's camouflage sliding into place. 

He didn't look back.

~*~

Leonard's first step was to choose his safe house. He had to keep himself hidden for at least five months so that he didn't interfere with the timeline. That left his personal apartment out, but he had several places throughout the city where he could stay. He chose a small, two-room apartment close to STAR Labs that he had been renting for several years under a pseudonym. Once he was set up, he went to the library to scour the newspapers, making copies of every article about the Flash after the singularity that he could find. There were one or two articles about him, too, and Leonard couldn't help the jolt of excitement he always felt when he saw his Captain Cold moniker in print.

He was really going to have to work on his ego if he wanted this thing with Barry to work.

The most interesting thing about Zoom was the fact that he didn't exist until he chose to reveal himself. Before he beat the Flash half to death and appeared in the CCPD and the Central Media offices, there wasn't anything about him at all.

Based on what Barry had told him, and the lack of unexplainable crimes that may have been attributable to Zoom, he had to be there for Barry only. That made Leonard's job both easier and harder. It was possible that Zoom could only be drawn out with Barry as bait, and that wasn't something Leonard was willing to do unless it was a last resort.

Once he exhausted traditional media, that led to step two. He cased STAR Labs, learning their patterns, those who came and went. Caitlin and Cisco, he knew. Barry. Detective West. Harrison Wells, version two. Iris was an interesting addition, but he'd suspected she knew the truth when he'd broken into her father's house to warn Barry about the Trickster.

There were two people Leonard didn't recognize, however. Barry had mentioned a Jay and a Wally several times, but he'd never actually described either of them. Leonard gave his communicator a thoughtful look. "Gideon?"

"Mr. Snart," Gideon answered immediately. "A pleasure."

"I'll admit it—I'm surprised to hear from you," Leonard said.

"I have a stable platform in your time," Gideon responded.

"You do?" Leonard was surprised again. He had thought that Gideon was specific to the Waverider. "In that case, what can you tell me about 'Jay' and 'Wally'? Barry mentioned that they were both speedsters."

"Wally West," Gideon stated, and there was a momentary pause while she went through her databanks. "Son of Joe and Francine West. Arrived in Central City and developed a connection to the Speed Force after exposure to Velocity-9. Jay Garrick. The Flash of Earth-2, currently assisting Barry Allen with Zoom."

"Gideon," Leonard said, smiling to himself. "A lady like you could make a guy lose his cool."

"Mr. Snart," Gideon said crisply, "flattery will get you nowhere with me. Stay frosty."

Leonard huffed a laugh. "Yes, ma'am." 

With Gideon's reassurance, Leonard relaxed enough to begin step three: bugging everything.

He slipped into STAR Labs while nearly everyone was gone — he could tell Cisco had updated their security, but it was still disappointing — and bugged Cisco's and Caitlin's computers. He stayed in the shadows as he watched Harrison Wells work in his lab and waited until Wells had finished his coffee and scowled at the cup. It was one hundred and twenty seconds before Wells decided to get himself another cup, and while he was gone, it was easy for Leonard to bug his computer as well and move on. The last thing Leonard bugged in the labs was Barry's suit itself, fitting the tiny piece into the speaker already built into Barry's cowl, where it would stay active even if Barry disengaged the other transceiver.

The next afternoon, Leonard went to the West house, jimmying the front door lock with simple ease, and he bugged their home phone, just to be safe. The house was empty, the Wests at work and Barry hard at work with his Flash-related heroism. Leonard left the house as easily as he had come in, and when he got back to his apartment, he took a few minutes to test the clarity of his surveillance.

"I'm taking off in an hour," Barry told Cisco, the bug in his suit working perfectly. "I'm meeting Patty for dinner at the Bonanza, and she'll kill me if I'm late."

Detective Spivot. Leonard felt a curl of unease in his gut. He'd forgotten that they had been dating.

Still, it didn't stop Leonard from going to the restaurant and eating while he waited for Barry and Detective Spivot to make their date. He paid for his food and then waited patiently until they got to the door before making his move. He popped the collar of his jacket up and got up, passing them to reach for the door. Leonard bumped Barry's shoulder as he slipped through the open door and snagged Barry's phone, slipping it into his pocket and apologizing for the interruption. Barry didn't look closely at Leonard, and for once, Leonard was grateful that the kid couldn't keep his head on straight for two seconds.

Leonard went around to the side of the building, pulling out Barry's phone and turning it off. He swiped his thumb against his own phone and activated the app he'd purchased specifically for this purpose, calling Barry's phone. Once the surveillance app was activated, Leonard walked back into the restaurant and turned in Barry's phone to the bartender, telling them he'd found it on the ground outside.

Mission accomplished. Leonard walked back out the door, and Barry never even knew he was there.

~*~

Leonard lost the bugs on the computers within two weeks, thanks to a meta who managed to break into the lab, but it was a minimal loss. He still had surveillance on Barry's phone and the Flash suit, and those were the most important. 

"We have a breach opening at the dock," Cisco was saying. "Think you can swing by and check it out?"

"Already heading that way," Barry said, and less than a second later, Leonard heard the unmistakeable sound of Firestorm, the sound of his gun, of Mick, and he looked at the date. There was a crackle over the audio, and Barry grunted in pain. Leonard rose halfway from his seat, and then took a deep breath, forcing himself to sit down. If his suspicion was correct, then—

"This is just icing on the cake."

—there he was.

Leonard couldn't change anything he'd been personally involved in, so he went into the kitchen to brew himself some coffee while Barry asked him out for the first time. It was bizarre, hearing it from this perspective.

"Dude!" Cisco's voice came loud and clear over the radio. "Did you just ask Captain _Cold_ out for coffee?"

"Sure," Barry said. "It's not like he's really a bad guy right now, right? So it's just something nice. Maybe if we get to know each other, we'll stop fighting so much."

"Barry…" That was Caitlin, and the soft, careful voice she was using made Leonard frown. "I think it's great that you want to keep giving people chances, but don't you remember what he did to you? To us?"

"And he hasn't actually apologized for any of it," Cisco reminded him.

"I think that travelling with Rip and the others could be good for him," Barry said. "Stop being so pessimistic, guys. It's just coffee."

"I just want you to be careful," Caitlin said. "You always let him— hurt you."

"Can we please not talk about this while I'm on duty?" Barry complained. 

"You're right," Caitlin agreed. "We're just worried."

"I know, and I appreciate it," Barry said. "Now, is there anything else going on in the city, or can I head home for the night?"

"Robbery," Cisco said immediately. "Fifth and Main."

"Got it." There Barry went, zipping off to stop another crime. There was something about his heroism that was refreshingly genuine. 

Leonard really should have never agreed to have coffee.

The next couple of days were relatively normal. Cisco and Caitlin didn't bring Leonard up, and Barry seemed to be working on the same level of avoidance. Barry talked with Patty. A lot. They were adorable, geeked out equally over metahumans and science. The intimacy in even their most casual conversations made Leonard restless and annoyed, unable to get comfortable.

Whenever it was too much, he turned the sound down on the receiver and worked on drafting his plans for a new setting on his gun. At this point, it only seemed logical to do his own adjustments. He couldn't keep expecting Cisco to build new ones.

~*~

"Hey!" The sheer pleasure in Cisco's voice drew Leonard's attention, and he sat up straighter in his chair, wondering what made Cisco so happy. "Look what the hawk dragged in!"

"You make one more bird joke, Cisco, and I'm out of here." It was Kendra. Leonard didn't know her history with Cisco, but it had been obvious they were close.

"Where's your sense of humor?" Cisco teased her.

"Don't you know? Reincarnating warrior bird goddesses aren't allowed to have a sense of humor."

"Ha! That was a joke, you can't fool me— Hey, Barry! Kendra came to say hello!"

"Hey!" Barry's voice sounded a little confused, and Leonard tilted his head, leaning his elbows on the table as he listened to the short draw of Barry's breath. "Aren't you…?"

"Am I…?" Leonard laughed at that, knowing her well enough now to imagine the look she was probably giving Barry. "...not supposed to be here because I'm time travelling on a ship from the future?" There was silence. "I'm not going to give you a high five, Cisco. What is my life?"

Barry cleared his throat. "How... long have you been here? Are you the only one? Are the others on a mission?"

"We came in last night." Kendra's confusion was clear in her voice. "Why? Is there something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing wrong," Barry said, too quickly. "I just— I remembered I have to do something. I, ah— It's good seeing you again, Kendra."

"You, too?" 

"Don't mind him," Cisco said. "He's been acting a little weird."

Leonard frowned. Barry wasn't wearing his suit and Leonard had to assume Barry remembered to grab his phone before he left the lab. Leonard activated the app on his phone. He could hear the wind whistling in a way that told him Barry was running at Flash speeds. 

After several seconds, Barry stopped running, and Leonard heard his own voice, muffled by the pocket Barry had put the phone in. He listened to that conversation, slowly drumming his fingers against his desk. He had originally thought that Barry was eager to talk with him because he was optimistic, that he reached out because Leonard was balancing the tightrope act of being not quite a hero and not quite a villain. If that wasn't the case…

Leonard spun his chair around to grab a composition book and flipped it open, jotting down notes on the date he and Barry had coffee, when Barry had first asked him, putting together a timeline of events as he listened. How long was he going to talk about the Bulgarian dinosaurs anyway? Forever, apparently.

They eventually steered away from dinosaurs to talk about time travel and sci fi in general, and Leonard relaxed, taking a deep breath. Eventually, the buzz of their pointless conversation came to an abrupt halt, and Leonard straightened again when he heard Detective Spivot, remembering how he had all but run out of Jitters like Mick had set him on fire.

"Not nearly as chill as I hoped I was," Leonard said to himself, shaking his head.

"Okay, Barry," Detective Spivot said. "This is your chance to tell me what the hell that was all about." Leonard shamelessly turned the volume up. The thought to let them maintain their privacy never even crossed his mind.

"What are you talking about, Patty?" Barry asked. "I've known Snart for a while now."

"Oh," Detective Spivot said. "Well, then. If you've _known_ him for a while, I don't even know why I'm concerned."

Barry scoffed. "It's not like that. I mean— He only had coffee with me because he had nowhere else to be."

"Like prison," Detective Spivot pointed out. "Where he was before he broke out?"

"It's not my job to arrest him," Barry said. "Enough about him, though. What about you? You're usually a Jitters-in-the-morning kind of girl."

"Don't give me that smile, Barry. I'm upset."

Barry sputtered. "What do you want me to say? He did some bad stuff, it's in the past, and we met for coffee. Once."

"He did some bad stuff," Detective Spivot parrotted back. "Like _murder_ , Barry. Just because he's been well-behaved for a couple of months doesn't erase the fact that he's a killer and, worse, you're just _okay_ with it?"

"I wouldn't say that," Barry said uncomfortably. "Of course I'm not just okay with it. Why would I be?"

"I'm sorry, you were the one who just had coffee with the guy. It's an easy mistake to make."

"That's not fair." Barry's voice was softer,subdued. "I can't explain it, okay? I just—"

Detective Spivot sighed. "At least tell me you aren't going to see him again. He's dangerous."

"Of course I'm going to see him again!" Barry sounded surprised, like the idea of _not_ seeing Leonard hadn't crossed his mind at all. It made Leonard smile to himself, private and pleased. "I'm going to see him whenever I can!"

"Barry!"

"Patty, seriously, you don't understand, and you're blowing it all out of proportion. I wish I could explain it to you, but I can't. Can you please just... trust me?"

There was a moment of silence, and then Patty said, "I don't know what's going on in your head, Barry. I don't even know who you are right now. When you get your head screwed on again, come find me."

"Patty—"

"Just stop. Please." There was the scrape of a chair when Detective Spivot stood, the sound of her footsteps fading as Barry sighed.

"Damn," Leonard murmured. "Sorry, Red." He rubbed a hand over his face and pushed away from the table, heading into the kitchen to make his dinner.

~*~


	8. Ice Age

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leonard rolled, winded, and then slowly climbed to his feet, checking himself over for injuries, for his gun—somehow, insanely, still in its holster—and only then looked at his attacker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to dungeonmarm and lady_krysis for the betas. They did immeasurable improvements, and I am so, so grateful.

~*~

"You need to disrupt her molecular structure." Caitlin's voice made Leonard close his eyes and rub his hands over his face as he stalked around his apartment.

"Dude, _dude_!" Cisco thumped his console. "She's biogenic liquid and I'm an _idiot_. Throw the lightning. That should destabilize her!"

Leonard paused his pacing to glare at the radio. "Throw the lightning?"

"Got it!" Barry said, and then the telltale crack of energy sizzled over the comms before Leonard heard the meta Barry was fighting cry out. "She's back to normal. I'll bring her back to the lab."

Leonard walked over to his desk, gripping the edge and taking a deep breath. It was _commendable_ that Barry wanted to save the metahumans from themselves, but there was a psychopath speedster who wanted to kill Barry and take his power. Leonard had been casing STAR Labs for three months and they still didn't know anything new about Zoom. Even Garrick and Wells didn't really have anything on him, other than 'evil' and 'fast', which wasn't particularly helpful. Zoom was popping in and out of Central City with impunity, and Leonard was offended by it.

And Barry was off playing hero like his life wasn't in danger.

Leonard took a breath and held it, counting to ten before releasing it.

"Mr. Snart, I've gained access to the CCTV archives, as you requested." Gideon's voice chimed from Leonard's communicator. He was grateful for the distraction.

"Fantastic." Leonard rubbed a hand over his head, absently noting to himself that he needed to get his hair cut. "There was a video the Gideon on Waverider showed me of the CCTV outside of Central Media. Can you access that?"

"Stand by," Gideon said, and then the video appeared on Leonard's computer. 

Leonard watched it once, and then again. "Who is that woman that Zoom took? I can't get a clear look at her."

"I have limited information regarding this past, Mr. Snart. Stand by." _This_ past. Leonard hated time travel. And alternate universes. And magic. The list was growing. "There's a ninety-eight percent chance that she is Linda Park."

"Linda Park. Interesting." 

Leonard remembered her—yet another ex of Barry's. It was easy enough to track her down, and when Leonard found her telephone number, he wondered if he would have better luck showing up on her doorstep. He was aware of how desperate his situation was becoming. He was about to catch up with the timeline, and when that happened, he would no longer have the advantage.

Leonard was grasping at straws. He hated it, but Zoom was one of the worst kinds of villains. His needs were simple. He wanted one thing and focused all of his energy on obtaining it. There was no other motivation, and they knew nothing about him or why he was so obsessed with gaining speed, other than sheer egomania.

"Am I reading these right?" Cisco said in undertone to Caitlin, his voice barely audible over the speaker. Leonard refocused his attention. "Barry, your vitals are all over the place. Are you feeling okay?"

"I've already told you I'm fine," Barry snapped. There was a moment of silence, and then Barry continued. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm just tired. There's nothing wrong with me, guys. I'm fine. I _promise_."

"If you'd just let us run some more tests—" Caitlin suggested.

"You've run tests," Barry pointed out. "I don't know what these tests'll show that the other ones didn't."

"We're worried about you," Cisco said.

"I know." Barry must have pulled the cowl down, because his voice got a little louder as he continued. "I appreciate you looking out for me, but at this point I think you're being paranoid. And don't think I haven't noticed you trying to vibe me."

"Yeah, well." Cisco hissed in a breath. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, so instead I'm going to look at your suit. She messed you up pretty bad."

Leonard tuned out their conversation again, thinking instead of Linda Park. He needed to get out of the apartment, maybe out of Central itself for a couple of days, and a trip to Coast City might be just what the doctor ordered.

~*~

Leonard stepped off of the airplane and looked around, shouldering his carry on as he walked past baggage claim and out of the airport entrance. The air wasn't anything like Central, but it was good to be outside, beyond the walls of his small safe house. He was finally able to put his restless energy to good use, instead of listening to Caitlin and Cisco technobabble at each other.

It was a little too early to search Linda out, so he went to check in at his hotel to stash his bag. Afterward, he found a little barber shop and had his hair buzzed short again. It made him feel more like himself.

Linda had transferred to the Coast City Herald when she moved, and Leonard decided that he would have a good chance to find her working. He rented a motorcycle, just for his own pleasure, and took a circuitous route to the newspaper offices just because he could.

A smile at the receptionist got Leonard in, and there Linda was, on the phone at her desk. He walked in and took a seat, giving Linda a slim smile when she looked at him. Her eyes grew large and worried, and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Leonard couldn't deny the small pleasure he got at being recognized, even though he wasn't here as Captain Cold.

"I'm sorry, something came up," Linda said quietly into the phone. "I'll call you back, okay?" She disconnected the call and stared at Leonard. "Why is Captain Cold here?"

Leonard shook his head. "I'm not here as Cold, not today. Len's fine."

"What do you want, Snart?" Ouch. Smart, pretty, and tough. Barry had a type.

"We have a mutual friend." Leonard watched her face, waiting for the recognition. "Wears red, likes to run."

Linda frowned at him but grabbed her purse as she stood. "You like coffee? I'm feeling like a coffee."

Leonard smiled. "Sounds good." He followed her out of the office and down to a small cafe two blocks away. They didn't make any small talk, which was something Leonard appreciated. He bought a latte for Linda and a bottle of water for himself, and they took up a small table in the corner of the cafe.

Linda took a drink of her coffee and sighed, shaking her head before she focused back on Leonard. "What is it you wanted to know? I'm not going to tell you his identity."

Leonard shook his head. "I already know that. What I'm interested in is Zoom."

Linda's fingers tightened on her coffee cup. "I don't really know anything about him. I was bait."

"I want to know everything." Leonard took a sip of his water and then leaned closer. He wasn't reassuring under the best of times, and he needed her to talk.

"You could have just called for that," Linda said instead of answering. "You didn't have to come all the way out just to talk to me."

"I have my reasons," Leonard said. "Tell me everything you remember, Ms. Park. It's important."

Linda rubbed her forehead. "I didn't know what was going on at first. A woman attacked me at Central City Media. She looked exactly like me. I thought I was going to die until the Flash saved me." Leonard kept his eyes trained on her, quiet and patient as she struggled to relay her story. "In the end, the Flash convinced me to pretend that I was my doppelganger. I tried to convince Zoom that I had killed the Flash, that I had done my job. He wasn't fooled." She hesitated again, looking past Leonard's shoulder, unfocused. "It's funny, but the thing I remember most is the way he smelled. It was like... ozone and burnt oil. He was vibrating so fast that the air felt like it rippled around him. He didn't say anything to me. He just stood there and stared. I thought he was going to kill me, but the Flash saved my life and distracted him. He didn't come back after me, but we thought that it would be safer if I left town for a while."

"Zoom went after you because the Flash cared about you." Interesting. And good to know. Leonard had a thousand more questions—what did Zoom look like up close? Was the lightning trail he left behind actually blue, or did it just look that way on the CCTV cameras Leonard had been able to get into? What did Zoom sound like? How did he move? Did he say anything to her at all? Did he lose his temper when he realized she was trying to play him? —on and on. Linda had answers for some, but more often than not, Leonard was left frustrated.

Linda looked at her watch and got up to throw her coffee cup away. "I've got to go back to work." Leonard nodded and rose to his feet, arching an eyebrow in inquiry when he sees her watching him. "You're part of his team now, aren't you? Team Flash."

Leonard smirked. "Not in the least." He walked Linda to the door of her office. "Thanks for the talk."

"This... feels weird to say, but you're welcome." Linda gave Leonard another quizzical look and went through the door.

Leonard didn't particularly have anything else to do in Coast City, but he couldn't resist the chance to play tourist after being stuck casing Barry and his team for the last couple of months. He could spare a day or two.

~*~

Cisco found the remaining bug while Leonard was gone. Of course.

It had recorded everything up to its discovery to Leonard's hard drive, but there wasn't very much that was important, mostly Cisco grumbling about how often Barry damaged his suit, an argument between Barry and Jay about Zoom, some sweet talk between Jay and Caitlin during a private moment. That was the worst part of casing people—even Team Flash was mundane and boring most of the time.

More interesting, though, was the fact that the surveillance that Leonard had put on Barry's phone was still transmitting. He could access pictures and telephone calls that Barry had made or taken less than an hour ago, and it made him frown. If he had been Cisco, after finding the bug he would have checked everyone's phones, too. Still, Leonard couldn't resist activating it. If they traced it, Barry would come after him and Leonard could explain. If they couldn't trace it, then they would just remove it. It had been five months since he'd talked to Barry personally, and Leonard could admit to himself that he had missed the kid, even that tired, stressed out part of him.

"I'm not giving you my phone," Barry was saying in the tone of someone who had said that a lot over a short period of time. "Seriously. I need it."

"Barry, it'll take five minutes." Cisco groaned.

"And if there is something, we'll have to do a factory reset, and there's stuff on here that I _can't_ lose."

"Dude, your Tinder app will be fine. This is more important. This is STAR Labs and Flash business important! What if it's another military thing, or maybe Rathaway, looking for dirt on you?"

"Rathaway," Barry said dryly. "Really, dude?"

"I'm just _saying_ —"

They were going to go around in circles forever. Leonard felt the beginnings of a headache and rubbed his temple. The easiest way to take care of that would be to do it himself. He checked the date—time travel had screwed with his head, but he was almost positive that he hadn't called Barry between that day and when he was set down in the past. He stared at his communicator, which was good for contacting Gideon or the Waverider team, and little else. He would have to do this the old-fashioned way.

Leonard turned to his laptop and paused the surveillance, grabbed the cellphone sitting on his table, and then dialed Barry's number.

"Hello?" Barry was polite and professional, and Leonard closed his eyes, hoping he wasn't about to screw up all of his hard work.

"Hey."

The change in Barry's voice was instantaneous. "Hey! You called _me_ for a change!"

"Surprise."

"Wait, wait, are you _back_? This was a different number— You're back in Central, aren't you? Where are you—"

"Barry. Take a breath." Leonard smiled, soft and affectionate, because no one could see him anyway. "Give Cisco your phone."

"How did you even know about that?" Leonard could hear Cisco in the background, asking who it was, but his voice faded after a minute. "Sorry. Cisco being nosy."

Leonard leaned back in his chair. "I know about it because I was the one who bugged you."

"You... bugged STAR Labs. And my phone? Why?"

Leonard took a breath and rubbed a hand over his face. "I wanted to learn about Zoom."

"Len, why didn't you ask me? I would've told you everything I knew."

"I had my reasons," Leonard said. "I didn't keep anything that would hurt you. You believe me?"

"Yeah," Barry agreed. "Of course I do." Leonard had heard that level of trust in Barry's voice only once, right before Leonard had betrayed him and let the other metahumans go. It was nice to have it back.

"So believe me when I say you don't need to worry," Leonard reiterated. "Give Cisco your phone and let him take care of it."

"Fine." Barry sounded unhappy, a little sulky. Leonard missed him so much it hurt. "You haven't answered my question."

A little white lie wouldn't hurt. "I'll be back in Central soon. A day or two." Leonard smirked. "Are you going to run through the city trying to track me down again?"

"I shouldn't have to. My partner should call and tell me where he is." Barry's voice was light, teasing, but Leonard still had to close his eyes and breathe.

"I will. Call." Leonard's voice was rough, but he didn't clear his throat.

"Leave a message if I don't answer? Just in case?" Barry asked.

"I will," Leonard promised, and he disconnected the call, leaning forward and dropping his phone on the desk. At this point, he knew he could go to Barry any time he was ready. Their conversations on Waverider had grown shorter and less often in the weeks leading up to Hall's death, mostly because Leonard had been distracted by planning ten separate bank heists.

The problem was that Leonard had been chasing after Zoom and casing STAR Labs for five months, and he knew nothing more than Barry and his friends had when he began. It seemed impossible, that someone who loomed so large could leave so little a trace. Leonard got out of his chair and rifled through the papers at his desk, discarding some plans and setting aside others. 

Barry was weak to cold, so assuming that each speedster had that same thermodynamic weakness led Leonard to believe his cold gun would still be the most effective weapon. He'd had some ideas for additional applications—mines, perhaps, or the cold field he'd been trying to make work—but it would go faster with Cisco working on them instead. He knew that Cisco would never voluntarily work on his weapon, so unfortunately, that made the point moot.

Leonard would have to figure it out himself, and only then would he be able to go to Barry with his plan.

~*~

Leonard looked around one more time to make sure he was alone, and then he opened his warehouse unit, slipping inside and flipping on the lights. They flickered on over the length of the unit—his work tables were all along the right wall, but the majority of it was empty, save for wooden mannequins further in the back. He set his bag down on one of the tables and unbuckled his holster, taking his gun in hand before he went to the far side of the storage unit. He'd spent a lot of time here, learning how the gun worked. He hadn't been here in months, so he wouldn't damage the timeline by spending his time here, making adjustments to his gun.

Once Leonard was within range, he aimed the gun at a mannequin and started his testing by cycling through each of the different settings: the original absolute cold beam, the failsafe, the cutting beam, and then—

The gun clicked, whirred, and went dark.

Leonard bit back a curse and took his gun over to his workbench, flipping on the lamp so that he could get a better look at his gun and find out what went wrong. The core itself was fine, showed no damage or wear, but he couldn't figure out what was missing in his attempted upgrade and it was driving him crazy.

He was smart. Even though he didn't have a background in engineering and Cisco had been the one to make the gun, he had taken it apart and pieced it back together so often that he knew the gun like he knew his own hand. It still wasn't enough.

He spent hours working, drafting new plans. His ice cutter had been an easy fix, a simple change in apertures, but to create the kind of cold field he wanted, it required far more delicacy. It was late when he finally gave up for the evening, and he shut down the lights, leaving his blueprints in a neat pile for him to return to the next evening.

The air was damp and thick when Leonard stepped out of his storage unit, smelling of rain, and he wondered idly if he would be able to get home before the skies opened up. He grabbed his helmet, setting it on his head unstrapped, and—

Acceleration. The helmet fell, but Leonard didn't hear the clatter. His heart was in his throat, his stomach twisting with the unexpected velocity. There was a hand tight on his neck, fingers squeezing, but Leonard barely had time to worry about possibly losing an arm or leg before he was dropped. He rolled, winded, and then slowly climbed to his feet, checking himself over for injuries, for his gun—somehow, insanely, still in its holster—and only then looked at his attacker.

"Zoom." Leonard smiled, smug and brief. "Can't say I appreciate the warm welcome." Zoom flashed into his space, and Leonard watched him unflinchingly. He was an inch or two taller, bigger in the shoulders and arms, and Linda was right. He smelled like ozone and burnt oil, like a car before a much needed tune up. A mask _and_ claws? Someone was overcompensating.

"You've been watching the Flash," Zoom said, vibrating in place, his voice dark and threatening.

"So have you." Leonard took a calculated risk, his heart thumping hard in his chest as he turned away from Zoom, looking around to figure out where they were. It actually didn't take very long—they were on the roof of a tall office building. He could see STAR Labs off in the distance, the lights of the stores and homes shining below. Zoom zipped in front of him and stood there, staring at Leonard, and Leonard arched an eyebrow. "Something tells me you don't want a team up."

Zoom growled, a low rumble that Leonard almost didn't hear beyond the buzzing of Zoom's vibration, and he seized Leonard by the throat again, racing to the edge of the roof. There was something indescribable about him, more than the casual violence, something visceral that made Leonard grow cold. "I'm going to take away everything he loves. I will break him."

Leonard swallowed and very definitely did not think about Zoom's hand tightening on his throat, how he was dangling three stories in the air, only one mood swing away from a very long drop. "You could have killed me without the chat. Why the whole song and dance?"

Zoom pulled Leonard closer, staring at him with a strange sort of intensity. "I was curious. You are nothing."

"I'm Cold." Leonard's hand dropped to the cold gun in its holster, and he released it, finger on the trigger. He wouldn't have a chance to connect under normal circumstances, but Barry slowed when in proximity to the beam of his gun, and he was willing to take the risk. The beam shot down, missing Leonard's leg by an inch, although he felt an ache at the sheer cold so close, and ice formed over the windows as he aimed it upward, toward Zoom. It connected for a second, maybe two, and Zoom's eyes widened in pain and fury at the contact before he flung Leonard away and vanished.

There was a moment of weightlessness as the world spun around Leonard, stars and building and ground, and he scrabbled for any sort of handhold, his fingers colliding with the smooth, cold side of the building he'd just iced, sending a bolt of pain up his arm. Leonard wished he were in Gotham, desperately, where the buildings had all sorts of crags and gargoyles to cling to. He fired the gun again, trying to slow his own velocity, trying to create an outcropping of ice that he could grab.

The acceleration changed abruptly, halting the drop, and Leonard lost his gun, could feel it rip out of his hand at the jerk of his suspended fall. He automatically clung to the body that caught him, too desperate to keep his cool and pretend everything was going according to plan. He could feel arms curling around him, one tight around his waist, the other cradling his neck and protecting him from whiplash, and even with the sudden change of direction, the adrenaline and the nausea, he knew who it was.

The world blurred past them, and Leonard squeezed his eyes shut, counting the seconds until they slowed down to a gentle stop. Leonard swallowed, opened his eyes, and smirked, stepping away from Barry and smoothing down his parka. "Thanks, kid."

Barry didn't look amused in the least. "What the hell, Len? I mean it. Seriously. What the hell?" He offered Leonard his cold gun—of course the kid had caught it in mid fall. Leonard didn't think he would ever stop being surprised.

"You made sure he didn't follow us." Leonard accepted the cold gun and put it in its holster, flexing his fingers. His right hand was fine, but his left, the hand that had struck the building as he fell, felt like one or two fingers had broken. 

Barry looked around, vanished for eighteen seconds and came back. "I can't find him anywhere. I think he made his point." Barry crossed his arms over his chest. "What were _you_ doing with Zoom?"

Leonard gave a tight smile. "Getting assaulted."

The tense line of Barry's jaw relaxed, and Barry unfolded his arms, taking a step closer and reaching out for Leonard's arm. "He threw you off a roof, Len."

"And it's not something that I'm particularly anxious to repeat," Leonard said, his face pinching as he tried to flex his broken fingers. Barry peered at Leonard's hand, touching it gently, and he worried at his bottom lip with his teeth. 

"I need to take you to Caitlin." Barry's fingers hovered over Leonard's broken fingers, and Leonard shook his head, pulling away from Barry's touch.

"Not Caitlin. We can go to my apartment. If you're not squeamish, we can get this done ourselves."

"Yes, Caitlin," Barry said firmly. "She's a doctor. It's either that or the hospital."

"So I either make nice with your friends, or you have me arrested." A smile twitched at the corner of Leonard's mouth. "That's cold."

A flush rose on Barry's cheeks, and he smiled, wide and pleased. "I'm learning from the best."

Leonard gestured toward Barry's earpiece with his good hand. "And what do they have to say about it?"

"Nothing important. Because—" Barry's voice grew louder, as though he was talking over someone. Or several someones. "—because we're _heroes_ and helping people is what we do."

"This is a bad idea." Leonard inhaled a slow breath when his fingers throbbed again. "Take me back to my apartment. I'll take care of this on my own." There was also his bike, left abandoned by his warehouse, and he didn't even know if it was still there, or if another enterprising criminal had already made off with it. He had far too much to do, and he shouldn't be wasting time with Barry.

Barry shook his head and swept Leonard up in his arms, careful to guide Leonard's broken fingers between them so they would be protected from the pressure and force of their movement, and then they were at STAR labs.

Leonard narrowed his eyes, giving Barry a flinty look. "I said I didn't want to be here."

"Yeah," Cisco said, he and Caitlin walking in from the other room, "I'm pretty sure that's what _we_ said, too." His mouth worked, and he waved a hand. "That we didn't want you here, not that you didn't want you here."

"We're in agreement. Fantastic. I'll see myself out." Leonard's shoulders tensed up as he catalogued everyone—Barry, of course, Caitlin, Cisco, and off to the side, the second Wells leaning against the doorframe as he watched—but Barry flashed in front of him before he could take a step, setting his hands on Leonard's shoulders.

"Len," Barry said softly, " _please_."

Leonard cast another wary look around the room and then exhaled, stalking to the medical bed and sitting gingerly on it.

Barry turned to his friends, pushing off his cowl as he faced them. "Guys, please. He was fighting Zoom. That puts him on our side."

"I remember what happened _last_ time he was on our side," Caitlin muttered as she strode up to Leonard. She gestured at Leonard's shirt with a jab of her finger. "I'll need this off." Leonard gave her a wry look and reached behind him with his good hand, trying to tug his sweater up over his shoulders.

"Hey, no, I can help," Barry said, and he flashed to Leonard's side, easing Leonard's arm out of his sleeve, careful not to jostle Leonard's broken fingers. "Isn't that better?"

"Thanks, Red," Leonard said in undertone, and he thought wistfully of the plan he'd set out—how he would come to Barry with the information he had on Zoom, how he would convince Barry to keep their relationship quiet until they'd gotten rid of him—but Cisco and Caitlin were watching them, and they weren't stupid.

Caitlin had to elbow Barry out of the way, and even though she was brusque and cold, she wasn't cruel. "Barry said you fought Zoom?"

"You were on a roof, weren't you?" Cisco asked. 

Leonard nodded to both questions. "It was more like an assault, but close enough."

"Huh," Cisco said, and Leonard's eye twitched when Caitlin prodded a particularly sore muscle. "So when I vibed you—"

"When did you vibe him?" Barry frowned and shifted from foot to foot, full of restless energy.

"Kendra asked me to do repairs on the timeship, and it just seemed like the thing to do!" Cisco scowled at Barry, crossing his arms defensively over his chest.

Leonard arched an eyebrow. "Back up. Vibe?"

"Cisco's a metahuman," Barry jumped in. "Sometimes he can see the future?"

"Dude!" Cisco glared at Barry. "Need to know!"

Barry snorted. "Please. What's he going to do with that?"

"He's a criminal mastermind!" Cisco whirled around to glare at Leonard, who calmly lifted an arm at Caitlin's urging. "Who knows what he can do!"

Leonard smirked. "Nice to know you think so highly of me, Cisco."

Cisco groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Whatever, okay? The whole point I was trying to get to was that I saw you and Zoom on a roof, but you're telling me, what? That Zoom is _after_ you?"

"Speaking of the 'time ship'," Caitlin said delicately, "where's the rest of your team?"

Leonard looked off to the side, staring down at the tile of the floor. "It's just me."

"Okay, wait." Barry took a step closer, skirting around Caitlin to come up to Leonard's side. "I thought you were on a mission. I need some temporal clarification. Which you _are_ you?"

Leonard winced as Caitlin prodded his shoulder, and he had to decide how much of the truth he was actually going to tell. "The last two conversations _I_ had with you: one, I was about to rob my third bank back in 1815, and two, I called you about your bug problem."

Barry's smile grew wide, lighting up his entire face, and Leonard stared up at Barry, his heart thumping hard in response. The adrenaline from the attack and the fall was finally bleeding out of him, and it left Leonard feeling tired and in pain. His hand hurt, his leg where he'd almost frozen it, his shoulders and back.

"You left Waverider to come keep an eye on me, didn't you?"

"More importantly," Cisco interrupted, "Snart, you're saying _you_ were responsible for the bugs? I should've guessed, but I thought you were _gone_ —"

"Stop yelling at him!" Barry said, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

Leonard reached out without looking and grabbed Barry's wrist gently, grounding him so that he wouldn't go zipping off. "Cool it, Red."

"What's going on with you?" Caitlin asked, stepping away from Leonard and looking between Leonard and Barry like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"And now we're getting to the crux of the matter." Wells broke his silence and stepped into the room. Leonard didn't particularly care for the way Wells was scrutinizing them, but he knew that it was just the way Wells was, prickly and caustic.

"Dude, is this for real?" Cisco shook his head. "I mean, there _was_ that whole weird... double date... thing, but I thought that you weren't actually—"

"Actually what?" Barry asked defensively, and Leonard let Barry's wrist slide out of his grip.

"Wait, did you say _double date_?" Caitlin's voice rose, and Wells shook his head, slicing the air with his hand to get everyone's attention.

"None of that matters," Wells said tersely. "You've asked one important question the entire night, Ramon, and now you're not even listening to the answer. Why did Zoom go after Snart? _Because_ of this."

Leonard arched an eyebrow at Caitlin. "Since you stepped away, I'm assuming it's time for an X-ray?"

Caitlin blinked, as though she'd forgotten she had been giving him a physical. "Yes. Of course. This way."

"Do me a favor and don't talk about this until we get back," Leonard told Barry.

"I'm coming with you!" Barry said, as if it were obvious and he was shocked that Leonard would suggest otherwise.

"You'll get in the way." Leonard kept his eyes on Barry, refusing to give anyone else the weight of his attention. "Please."

"Yeah." Barry gave a short nod. "Fine." Barry unbent enough to help Leonard off the medical bed but immediately bristled again at Cisco's baffled look. Leonard shook his head and followed Caitlin out of the room to a smaller room across the hall that housed the X-ray machine.

"Lay your arm on the table, as straight as you can, please," Caitlin said, going to the medical equipment and turning it on before she grabbed a lead apron, wrapping it firmly around her waist. Leonard did as she asked, remaining silent. She moved the X-ray over his hand and gave him a stern look. "Don't move. I'm starting it now."

Leonard knew that if Caitlin was going to ask a question, it would be when Leonard was immobile, and she didn't disappoint him in the privacy of the X-ray room. "So. You and Barry, you're… together."

"It's none of your business," Leonard said, purposefully making an effort to keep his voice unthreatening.

"You're right," Caitlin agreed, surprising him, "and I don't need to know any details. I don't want to know. But you know who and what you are—"

"—and I'm not good for him, and if I love him, I'll let him go." Leonard finished. "I'll get on that. Good talk."

Caitlin pressed her lips into a thin, unhappy line but fell silent. It only took a minute or so until the X-ray was complete, and afterward, she removed her apron and took him back to the main room. She abandoned him at the entrance and went to her computer to retrieve his results, and Leonard looked at Barry, Wells, and Cisco, still huddled together in conversation. 

The medical bed was unnecessary, so Leonard made his way slowly to one of the chairs and sank down into it, starting to feel the stiffness settling into his muscles. Caitlin pushed away from her station to retrieve medical supplies and pulled up a chair next to Leonard. 

"You have two broken fingers and a sprained wrist," she said calmly. "I'm going to give you a topical anesthetic. Do you have any allergies?" Leonard shook his head, and Caitlin snapped on a pair of latex gloves and filled a syringe from one of the small bottles she'd lined up. She injected Leonard's hand with the numbing agent, and Leonard breathed a soft sigh in appreciation, the throb of his fingers more distant and bearable. Caitlin manually manipulated the broken bones into place and then wrapped a splint around his fingers, choosing a tight ace bandage for his wrist.

Leonard gave her an appreciative nod. "Thank you."

"I'm doing this for Barry, not you," Caitlin said, and she gathered all her medical supplies, vanishing back into the other room.

Barry immediately took her chair, pulling it around so that he was sitting next to Leonard, their calves pressed together. "Wasn't this much better than trying to use a first aid kit?" Leonard gave Barry a dry look. 

Wells walked over to them, Cisco following. "I need you to tell me everything about your encounter with Zoom," Wells bit out.

"Not much to tell." Leonard leaned back in his chair, smirking up at Wells just because he could. "He snatched me, took me to a rooftop. Didn't like what I had to say, so he dangled me over the edge. I shot him. He got pissed and threw me."

"You... shot him." Wells gave Leonard a pensive look, and Leonard narrowed his eyes, noting the faint note of surprise in Wells' voice. "How?"

He pulled his cold gun out of its holster, showing it off. There was no way in hell anyone in that room was getting it out of his hand. "Absolute cold, courtesy of Cisco."

"Much to my dismay," Cisco complained.

"How long have you been in this time?" Barry asked.

Leonard tilted his head, turned toward Barry just enough to give them a semblance of private conversation. "Long enough. I was casing him and he found out. Bad luck."

Barry smiled again, his eyes going soft and warm, and it made Leonard smile, too, small and barely noticeable. "You _did_ come to help me."

"Give me one reason why we should trust you again, Snart." Cisco's voice was flat, angry, and he crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at Leonard, at the way he and Barry were so intimately situated.

"I have a vested interest in keeping Barry safe," Leonard drawled. 

"Guys," Barry said. "With Len's cold gun and Harry's serum, we really have a chance to take Zoom down. We can do this if we work together."

Cisco looked at Barry, then at Leonard, and turned away, raking his fingers through his hair. "Joe is going to _kill_ us."

Wells smiled, thin and unfriendly. "This is preemptive, Mr. Snart, but let me be the first to welcome you to the team."

~*~


	9. Snowblind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry glanced over at Leonard, smiled, and Leonard was more sure than ever that Barry was worth the sacrifice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to saekhwa and dungeonmarm for their betas! This story would be nothing without them and their support.
> 
> There's some porn in this chapter, so if it's not your cup of tea, feel free to skip it. :)

~*~

"I'm taking him home." Barry flashed into civilian clothing and then helped Leonard stand, curling his arm around Leonard's waist. Even though he didn't say anything, Leonard appreciated the support. "We'll talk about our plans tomorrow."

"You better believe we're talking tomorrow," Cisco grumbled, but he shook his head and turned to his computer, back facing Barry and Leonard.

"How are you feeling?" Barry asked as they walked out of the lab.

"I'm fine," Leonard said. "Can't feel a thing."

"You're lying, but I forgive you." Barry curled his arms around Leonard again, turning his face into Leonard's neck for a moment. "Hold on, I'll get you home."

"I _can _get home on my own." Still, Leonard curled his arms around Barry and closed his eyes, clenching his good hand and grabbing a fistful of Barry's shirt as the wind whistled past them, leaving Leonard breathless and exhilarated.__

__"You like it when I run." Barry's voice was husky and teasing in Leonard's ear, and a shiver raced up Leonard's spine in response. He opened his eyes to see they were at his apartment and stepped away. They were at his home, not just one of his safehouses, and knowing that Barry remembered where he lived left him both pleased and a little uneasy. His keys were actually at the other safehouse where he'd been staying, but he would just have to go back the next morning. His bike, too. He thought briefly about asking Barry to go find it, but he didn't want Barry to know every place he'd carved out for himself in the city. If it was a loss, it would be a loss. He'd just get himself a new one._ _

__He gave Barry an amused shake of his head, his lips twitching, and turned toward the unit that powered his central heat and air, crouching down and claiming his spare key from its hiding spot._ _

__"You should've told me you didn't have your keys," Barry said, a frown creasing his forehead, and Leonard shrugged._ _

__"It's fine, Red." He unlocked the door and sighed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. It had been a month or so, chronologically, since at least one version of him had last been in the apartment, and he sat back on his sofa with a gratitude he only felt for a chair at the end of a long day._ _

__Barry trembled with a tense energy, standing at Leonard's side, and without opening his eyes Leonard patted the empty spot on the sofa with his good hand. Barry took the invitation immediately, drawing his legs up onto the couch cushion and leaning against Leonard's side. Barry was warm, as always, his metabolism leaving him running a few degrees hotter than a normal person, and Leonard let it soak into him._ _

__"You're very tired," Barry murmured, and Leonard hummed his agreement._ _

__"It's late, and Caitlin gave me some painkillers." He yawned, letting his eyes drift shut "Shouldn't have taken them. They leave me fuzzy."_ _

__"Good thing I'm here, then." Leonard felt the pressure of Barry's lips against his temple, his cheek, and then Barry pulled away. "Come on. Let's go to bed."_ _

__Leonard rose slowly to his feet, rubbing his good hand across his face in an attempt to chase the cobwebs away. "You should go home. Your family—"_ _

__"—Will be fine without me in the house for once," Barry finished. "They'll think I'm still out on patrol." He curled an arm around Leonard's waist again, and Leonard allowed him, even though Leonard wasn't really all that unsteady. It had been months since he touched anyone, months since he'd touched _Barry_ , and he wasn't done with the contact just yet._ _

__Leonard nodded, and once they reached his room, he pulled away, going into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He pulled his shirt off and then left the bathroom, tossing it into the hamper before he kicked off his shoes. Barry was staring again, and Leonard nodded toward the bathroom. "All yours. There's a spare toothbrush in the middle drawer."_ _

__"Thanks," Barry said, and in the time it took Leonard to unlatch his belt, Barry was back out, hair a little damp, clothes folded into a pile that he set on the dresser. He was wearing a pair of plaid boxers, and Leonard didn't realize he was staring until Barry grinned and came into his space, his hands dropping down to Leonard's hips, thumbs rubbing back and forth over his loose belt. "Need help with that?"_ _

__Leonard's mouth went dry, and he swallowed past the lump in his throat before he reached out, cradling Barry's face between his palms and kissing him. It was hard, unapologetic, not quite what he had been aiming for, but Barry moaned and pressed forward, up against him, his mouth soft and welcoming. Barry's hands tightened on Leonard's hips, and Leonard dropped his bandaged hand to Barry's shoulder, his good hand curling up into Barry's hair. Leonard had only intended on one kiss, a confirmation that he hadn't imagined their intimacy, but he'd missed it, missed all of it, and he sucked on Barry's bottom lip, flicked his tongue between Barry's teeth to explore his mouth. He wanted to shove Barry on the bed, maybe climb over him and straddle Barry's lap, but his first step forward cleared his mind. He was sore everywhere, legs and arm and fingers and back, even with the painkillers that Caitlin had given him, and he broke their kiss with a reluctant sigh. Barry made a whine that was delicious, sending a bolt of heat straight to Leonard's gut, and he tugged on Barry's hair, exposing the curve of his throat. Leonard latched his mouth against Barry's pulse, sucking hard enough to make a red mark rise to the surface of Barry's skin when Leonard let go, but it faded seconds later._ _

__Barry leaned in and lowered his head, his breath hot and moist against Leonard's shoulder, and he moaned when Leonard dragged him in, pressed together shoulder to thigh. "C'mon, Red," Leonard murmured against Barry's ear, nipping at the soft spot beneath his earlobe._ _

__Barry made another delighted noise and kissed Leonard again, yielding when Leonard walked him back toward the bed. He was impressed when Barry eased back at his pace—he thought Barry would have used his super speed to get them there faster, but each step Barry took was slow and careful. Leonard turned them around and sat on the edge of the bed, drawing Barry down into his lap, and he flattened his hands against Barry's back, humming in pleasure at the expanse of skin that was available to touch._ _

__Barry rocked impatiently against Leonard, his boxers tented with his erection and a little damp from his excitement, and Leonard hooked a finger just under the elastic of Barry's boxers, pulling it carefully away from Barry's cock. He thought about licking his palm, good enough to get the job done, but then he looked up into Barry's face, at his red, wet mouth and gleaming eyes, and he pressed his thumb against Barry's bottom lip. The give of Barry's mouth was immediate, Barry cradling Leonard's hand as he sucked on Leonard's fingers, and Leonard's cock gave an interested twitch in his jeans as he followed the curve of Barry's hollowed cheeks with his eyes. He drew his fingers out of Barry's mouth and kissed him again, licking his way back in, and he took his time exploring as he curled his damp fingers around Barry's erection. Barry made a small keening sound, trembling in Leonard's arms, and Leonard gave Barry's cock a tight, slow stroke, breathing in Barry's gasp. Barry rolled his hips, thrusting into Leonard's grip, and brought his hands up to Leonard's face, cradling Leonard's cheeks between his palms as he panted against Leonard's mouth. it didn't take very long for Barry to climax, three, maybe four thrusts into Leonard's fist, and then he shuddered, his hands sliding down Leonard's face to clutch at Leonard's shoulders as he came._ _

__When Barry stopped quaking with the last of his aftershocks, Leonard pressed a kiss to the corner of Barry's mouth and gave him an affectionate swat on the ass, urging him up so that Leonard could go to the bathroom and wash his hand. When Leonard came out of the bathroom, Barry looked anxious, so Leonard pushed his jeans off his hips and stepped out of them, turning off the light before he returned to the bed and slid under the covers._ _

__"You—don't want me to do anything for you?" Barry asked belatedly as he followed Leonard's example and crawled under the covers._ _

__"It's not going to happen tonight, kid," Leonard teased, settling down against his pillows. "Not with my broken fingers and painkillers."_ _

__Leonard felt more than heard Barry's gasp. "I'm sorry. I didn't think—"_ _

__"I wanted to do it," Leonard said, and he smothered a yawn with the back of his hand. "Don't worry. Get some sleep."_ _

__It took several minutes, and Leonard could feel Barry staring at him, but eventually he settled against Leonard's side. Problem averted, Leonard relaxed and closed his own eyes._ _

__~*~_ _

__Leonard woke to Barry jerking upright, his breathing loud in the dark and quiet room. Leonard had to blink several times before Barry became clear, and then he saw the way Barry's shoulders were hunched over and shaking._ _

__"Barry?" Leonard's voice was husky from sleep, so he cleared his throat and sat up, swiping a hand over his eyes. "You okay?"_ _

__Barry choked out a sob, the sound rattling deep in his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm—I just—"_ _

__"Hey." Leonard pulled Barry to him, and Barry promptly buried his face against Leonard's shoulder, his arms snaking around Leonard's waist and squeezing him tight. Leonard had never been very good at being soothing, so he just squeezed Barry's shoulder and pressed a kiss to his hair. "Nightmare?"_ _

__"Zoom had you." Barry inhaled a wet breath. "He could have killed you."_ _

__"He didn't." Leonard hid his yawn behind the cast of his fingers._ _

__"He _could_ have," Barry insisted, raising his face and staring at Leonard with watery eyes._ _

__"But he didn't." Leonard cupped Barry's cheek with his good hand and wiped away a tear with his thumb. "I'm not a damsel in distress."_ _

__Barry closed his eyes and nodded, reluctantly releasing his hold on Leonard. "I used to have dreams about that happening, with Patty. I was never fast enough to save her."_ _

__"I don't need you to be fast enough." Leonard urged Barry back down until their heads hit the pillows. "I can save myself." Barry nodded again and scooted closer, resting his head on Leonard's shoulder. "Can we sleep? I'm old and tired."_ _

__"Not that old," Barry muttered, and Leonard closed his eyes._ _

__"Old enough. Shut up and close your eyes."_ _

__"You shut up."_ _

__"Stunning."_ _

__" _Len_." _ _

__Leonard could feel Barry's smile, hidden against his shoulder, and allowed himself a pleased smirk. "You say one more thing, you're sleeping on the couch."_ _

__Barry didn't say anything, burrowing with a little more force against Leonard's side, and Leonard gratefully took that as a victory._ _

__~*~_ _

__"I think we should keep our relationship private," Leonard told Barry over breakfast the next morning._ _

__Barry dropped his fork to his plate, frowning across the table at Leonard. "I'm not ashamed of you."_ _

__"That's real sweet, kid." Leonard smirked at Barry, some part of him still awed that whatever this was between them was really happening. "And I appreciate it. I also appreciate being in one piece. I'd prefer that Detective West find out after we stop Zoom."_ _

__"So what does that mean for us exactly?" Barry picked up his fork and devoured another waffle in a second._ _

__Leonard wondered for a minute if Barry ever got sick to his stomach, eating that fast, and he took a sip of his coffee. "It means that we should be careful about how much we touch. What you call me in front of everyone. We should act like nothing's changed."_ _

__"I have to act like _something's_ changed," Barry protested. "Otherwise, why would we be working with you again?"_ _

__"Necessity," Leonard joked, but he inclined his head, acknowledging Barry's point. "If Detective West asks us—"_ _

__"And he will," Barry promised._ _

__"—we'll explain to him that I value Central, and Zoom isn't a controllable threat," Leonard finished. "It's in my best interest."_ _

__Barry hunched his shoulders and shoved another bite of waffle into his mouth. "I don't like it. I'm not going to be good hiding it. I don't want to hide it."_ _

__"It's temporary," Leonard said. "Just until this is over."_ _

__Barry gave him a pinched, worried look. "Have you told Lisa about us?"_ _

__"No." Leonard shook his head immediately. "Definitely not."_ _

__"Definitely not," Barry repeated, and he dropped his fork to his plate again and pushed away from the table. "This isn't about me. It's about you. You're ashamed of me, aren't you?"_ _

__Leonard blinked and rested his forearms on the arms of his chair, leaning back as he watched Barry. "Okay, kid. What's this about?"_ _

__"I hate it when you call me _kid_ ," Barry spat. "You don't know everything just because you're older than me!"_ _

__Leonard shook his head. "Never said I did."_ _

__"It's just—" Barry ran a hand through his hair. "If I can't tell Joe and you're not telling Lisa, how easy is it going to be to just—stop?"_ _

__Leonard shook his head and extended his right hand across the table. After a moment of hesitation, Barry took it, his frown easing from his face. "I can't tell you how long this is going to last. I can't tell you that everyone's going to accept it. After we defeat Zoom, I'll call Lisa and we'll have dinner together. I'll even let Detective West threaten me for an hour without shooting him. That's fair."_ _

__Barry gave Leonard a sweet, happy smile, and Leonard felt warmth bloom in his chest at the sight. It was a sensation he was growing more and more accustomed to. "That's fair," Barry agreed, and eyed his plate as he released Leonard's hand. "I think I'm done."_ _

__Leonard shook his head. "There's no way you're done. I've lost track of how much you eat."_ _

__Barry eyed his plate again and sighed, taking the rest of the waffles without complaint, speeding through them until his plate was empty. "Happy?"_ _

__"Don't start." Leonard made a move to get up, only for Barry to grab all the dishes and finish them at superspeed._ _

__When Barry slowed down enough for Leonard to see him again, he was looking down at his phone. "It's Cisco. You feel up to STAR Labs in an hour?"_ _

__Leonard nodded. "I need to take a sidetrip. Can I get a ride?"_ _

__Barry grinned, only too happy to show off, and they got dressed, Leonard strapping his cold gun into place. Leonard gave the address, and they flashed through the city in an instant. Leonard kind of loved it. Superspeed would never get old._ _

__The biggest, most pleasant surprise was that his bike was actually still there, parked in front of the storage unit, his helmet lying where he'd dropped it. He scooped up the helmet and set it on the seat of his motorcycle, and then he unlocked the unit door to get the plans he'd made for his gun. Maybe he could convince Cisco to do his thing after all._ _

__"What is this place?" Barry asked, wandering after him._ _

__Leonard spared Barry a glance and carefully put his notes in a bag. "None of your business." Barry pouted but retreated over to the entrance. Leonard secured the bag and guided Barry out before locking the door to the unit again. "Go on. I'll meet you there."_ _

__Barry sped off, and Leonard fastened his helmet, following more sedately on his motorcycle, wary of his broken fingers but too stubborn to leave his bike there overnight again. It was an entirely novel experience to walk into STAR Labs without deactivating their security measures, and Cisco's expression when Leonard walked into the main lab made him smirk in response._ _

__"I was hoping it was all just a terrible nightmare." Cisco shook his head and scowled at Leonard._ _

__Leonard quirked an eyebrow. "I'm hurt, Cisco. We're partners now."_ _

__"Here I thought I was your partner." Barry pressed a kiss to Leonard's cheek and zipped around the room to peer at Caitlin's computer._ _

__"I'm pretending I didn't see that," Cisco announced loudly to the room at large, hunching his shoulders as he turned back to his own computer._ _

__"Things could be worse," Leonard said dryly. "I could tell Lisa you miss her."_ _

__"Please don't," Cisco blurted out, his eyes wide in his face, and that made Leonard frown and narrow his eyes._ _

__"You got a problem with my sister?"_ _

__Cisco shook his head, his hair flying with the force of his denial. "No, not at all, it's just that this is... complicated enough."_ _

__"I agree." Leonard imagined getting Lisa involved, the look on her face when she saw Cisco — or worse, when she saw Barry — and shook his head._ _

__"So what's in the bag?" Cisco asked. "You didn't like, make us lunch or anything? Because that would be weird."_ _

__"Funny." Leonard wasn't particularly amused. "I thought we were planning to stop Zoom. My bad."_ _

__"Ignore Ramon." Wells poked his head into the main lab and inclined his head. "He doesn't know when to stop talking."_ _

__Leonard nodded in agreement and chose an empty table near Well's office, where he'd have a good view of Wells and of Barry and his friends. It was convenient that the inside was so much open space and glass, so he had an almost 360 view of everyone coming and going from the labs, but it also left him vaguely unsettled. He took his seat and unpacked his papers, nearly losing his grip on them when Barry flashed close to take a look. " _Ki_ —" Leonard bit back the rest of the word, remembering how angry Barry had gotten that morning. "Barry. Some warning would be appreciated."_ _

__Barry gave Leonard a sunny grin and bumped their shoulders together. "I would've caught them for you. What are you working on?"_ _

__"Modifications on my gun," Leonard answered as he took his gun out of the holster and set it on the table next to him._ _

__Cisco's head bolted up. "You're not making changes to my gun!" Cisco rolled his chair over and reached out—Leonard snatched his gun from the table, charging it up in an instant. Everyone froze. Figuratively._ _

__"It's my gun," Leonard said calmly. "And if you touch it without my permission, you will lose a hand. Do we understand each other?"_ _

__"Len, calm down." Barry set his hand on Leonard's shoulder and squeezed. "Cisco, just don't touch it unless he asks, okay?"_ _

__"Nice." Cisco's face was twisted with frustration, anger, and lingering fear. "He threatens me again, by the way, and it's my fault? The sex can't be that good." Barry opened his mouth, closed it, and tilted his head in consideration. Leonard could feel an impending headache beating at his temple. Cisco's mouth dropped open further the longer Barry was silent, and he stared at Barry like he'd never seen him before. "Oh my god, you're boning Captain Cold."_ _

__"You didn't get that from last night?" Caitlin asked, looking up from her screen to give Cisco a quizzical look._ _

__"Well, I mean—dating, it's—" Cisco ran a hand through his hair. "It's not like—frenemies! And body rubbing! It's weird."_ _

__Leonard blinked. "That's the worst description of sex I've ever heard."_ _

__"Besides, we're not frenemies," Barry answered, and Leonard looked up at him, frowning._ _

__"That's not the problem I had with that sentence."_ _

__Wells came out of his office, a frown creasing his forehead as he glared at the three of them. "I thought you were here for Zoom, not—" Wells made a dismissive gesture with his hand._ _

__"They're like magpies." Leonard said, frowning at Cisco and Barry as he took out his notepad. "Can we focus?" Wells came up behind Leonard to peer at the notepad as Leonard continued. "We have one target: Zoom." He wrote Zoom's name in blocky capitals in the center of the page. "We also have three speedsters, and your serum, which slows him down for a second or two before he metabolizes it." He wrote that down — Barry, Jay, Wally, serum._ _

__"How, exactly, do you know that?" Wells asked._ _

__"Len bugged the lab," Barry answered._ _

__"And your suit," Cisco added. "And your _phone_."_ _

__"At any rate." Leonard raised his voice to get their attention again, although he was quietly pleased they didn't mention the one on Detective West's landline. "The problem is that Zoom is too fast. Whether you're working together or separately, he's always a step ahead of you. My gun can change that."_ _

__"If it shoots at absolute zero like you say it does—"_ _

__"It does," Leonard and Cisco said in unison._ _

__"—then we might actually stand a chance," Wells finished dryly._ _

__"I can hit him." Leonard had a pretty good track record against the Flash, and the only thing he was concerned about was how much _faster_ Zoom was, how much further ahead Leonard had to think. "But after last night, he'll be expecting me. I hurt him, and he didn't like that."_ _

__"I don't like that," Barry pointed out. "But you shoot me all the time."_ _

__"You're in my way," Leonard said. "What do you expect?"_ _

__"Off topic, gentlemen," Wells reminded them, and Leonard shook his head._ _

__"I've spent time designing some tools to use against Zoom," Leonard continued._ _

__Cisco glared at him. "Anything you use against Zoom, you can use against Barry."_ _

__"He won't do that," Barry said firmly. "Not anymore."_ _

__Leonard didn't say anything. Barry was being sweet and a little naive, not intentionally obtuse. Leonard pulled out his tentatively-sketched plans to get suggestions from Wells and Cisco, but before he finished the movement, he saw something from the corner of his eye. He grabbed for his gun as he raised his eyes, only to find Detective Joe West staring at him with narrowed eyes, gun already drawn. Leonard released the cold gun and raised his hands slowly. There was no need to antagonize West while he already had Leonard at a disadvantage._ _

__"Someone has five seconds to explain to me what's going on here," West intoned, and Iris, directly behind her father, blinked as she took in the room._ _

__"Detective," Leonard said, because this was Barry's family, and even if he had a gun trained on him, there was no need to be rude. "Iris."_ _

__"Three seconds," West said._ _

__"Cold's teamed up with us again!" Cisco blurted out, and Barry flickered, on Leonard's left one moment, and then reappearing, settling dismantled gun parts on the table. Leonard was just… never getting over superspeed._ _

__It took a second for West to realize he was no longer holding a gun, and he dropped his empty hands, turning angry eyes to Barry. "Oh _hell_ no."_ _

__"Put your hands down," Barry whispered to Leonard, and Leonard lowered his hands to the table, keeping his eyes on West. Fortunately, all of his annoyance seemed entirely focused on Barry for the moment._ _

__"Barry," West said shortly. "We need to talk. Right now." Barry squeezed Leonard's shoulder, and Leonard rose halfway to his feet before West pinned him with another glare. "I'm talking to my son. You're not invited."_ _

__Leonard sat back down, and Barry smiled at him before he went to West, who planted a hand on Barry's shoulder and steered him into one of the other rooms._ _

__"So," Cisco said after another long minute of silence. "How about those Stars?"_ _

__Leonard cut a look at Cisco. "You're a Stars fan?"_ _

__"Are you kidding me?" Cisco asked. "Who isn't a Stars fa— _No_." Cisco pushed away from the table, giving Leonard a horrified look. "The Diamonds?"_ _

__"They've won the World Series three times," Leonard said, a little offended._ _

__"This is surreal, isn't it?" Iris said brightly, setting her hands on her hips as she looked around the lab again._ _

__Wells vanished back into his lab and shut the door, and Leonard leaned back in his chair, smirking at Iris. "Haven't you heard? I'm practically a hero now."_ _

__"I've got my doubts," Iris said, arching her eyebrow, and Leonard grinned outright at her._ _

__"We've got a robbery on Poe and Oxford," Caitlin reported._ _

__Leonard rose to his feet. "I'll let Red know." He exhaled a relieved breath as he headed toward West and Barry. Through the glass, he could see Barry hunching his shoulders a little, turned away from West._ _

__"I'm telling you that it's okay, Joe! Why can't you just trust me?"_ _

__"Because we've been through this already, Barr. You trust him, he betrays you, and you're the one who gets hurt." Detective West exhaled a sigh and ran a hand over his head. "This is what Snart does. He manipulates you, and he'll hurt you every time, because you want to believe the best in people."_ _

__"It's different this time," Barry said stubbornly, his hands shoved into his pockets._ _

__"You haven't given me one good reason why I shouldn't march back out there and arrest him." West leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Barry. "Have you thought about it? Really thought about it? What if he betrays you fighting Zoom like he did those other metas? Trusting him could _kill_ you."_ _

__"He won't do that!" Barry whirled around to face Joe. "We l—"_ _

__"Barry," Leonard interrupted, reaching up to knock once on the door. Leonard could almost hear how fast Barry closed his mouth as he spun around to look at Leonard, his eyes warm and grateful. Leonard relaxed against the door. "Flash business. Clock's ticking."_ _

__Barry left the room in an instant, electricity flickering where he'd stood, and that left West staring at Leonard with a hard, angry expression. It didn't particularly bother him. Leonard made a lot of people angry._ _

__"Snart." West stalked forward, pausing just a step or two away._ _

__Leonard was unimpressed. "West."_ _

__"I don't know what your angle is, but I'm going to keep an eye on you." West talked a good game, carried himself well, could maybe have even been a little bit intimidating, but his eyes gave him away. It was something Leonard actually liked about West, that he was a cop and also a good man._ _

__"Zoom's unpredictable," Leonard said, just as he told Barry over breakfast. "Central's my city. It's in my best interest to make sure he's taken out."_ _

__"Nice story."_ _

__"Ever think I just hate Zoom?" Leonard raised his left arm, showing West his injuries._ _

__West shook his head. "Not once. Nothing's ever that simple with you."_ _

__"Glad we agree." Leonard smirked at West and pushed away from the door, heading back to his blueprints and plans. He stacked his papers into a neat pile and tucked them back into his bag—he sure as hell wasn't going to talk about modifications to his gun with Detective West around._ _

__~*~_ _

__It was interesting, sitting at the center of STAR Labs and its hive of activity after being outside it for so long. Leonard didn't have anywhere in particular to be, and if he weren't at STAR, he most likely would have been at his warehouse. STAR Labs was far more comfortable. Cisco would occasionally look over at Leonard's desk, and Leonard was playing a waiting game there, seeing how long it would take for Cisco to finally break and offer his advice on the cold gun modifications._ _

__Jay Garrick, a man Leonard only knew through his surveillance, came up every once in awhile from the room that housed the particle accelerator. Leonard ignored him until Jay came by his desk and looked at him before he went to get lunch, and then again when he went back to his workstation._ _

__The third time Jay went past Leonard's desk, Leonard raised his head and arched an eyebrow. "I'm not an exhibit. What do you want?"_ _

__Jay gave an awkward smile. "Sorry, it's just—You're Leonard Snart, right?"_ _

__"And?"_ _

__Jay apparently took that as an invitation, leaning against the table. "It's weird. Barry mentioned that you knew about the—"_ _

__"Alternate worlds. Yes."_ _

__"Well, the Leonard Snart on Earth 2 is the mayor of Central City. It's strange to see him—you—so casual."_ _

__That was actually more interesting than Leonard had expected. "So I'm a criminal in both worlds."_ _

__"I wouldn't say that." Jay frowned at Leonard again._ _

__Leonard shrugged. "Thief, politician. Same thing."_ _

__Jay mulled that over for a minute and laughed. "Yeah, I guess you have me there." He straightened. "Caitlin told me you're joining the fight against Zoom. I'm Jay Garrick. Pleasure to meet you." He offered Leonard his hand, and after a second, Leonard shook it. "It's good to have you on board."_ _

__"Right."_ _

__Jay gave a final friendly smile and headed off down the stairs. Leonard pushed away from his table and wandered into the kitchen, idly opening and closing the cabinets just because he could, because he was part of Team Flash, temporarily, and the irony was too intense to ignore. He made himself a cup of coffee and headed back out into the main labs._ _

__Cisco and Caitlin were helping Barry with yet another Flash mission, and Leonard peered over their shoulders to look at their displays — police call logs, Barry's suit and the sensors, maps of Central._ _

__"Snart, do you mind?" Cisco complained, but he was still too nervous to do much other than roll his chair out of Leonard's way._ _

__"Len's still there?" The pleasure and delight in Barry's voice was obvious, and Leonard smirked, warm and satisfied._ _

__"Just snooping, Red. Don't get distracted."_ _

__There was a spike on Barry's vitals that drew Leonard's attention, and Caitlin leaned closer to the microphone. "Barry, I'm picking up some heart palpitations from your suit sensors, are you okay?"_ _

__"Yeah, I just—I'm feeling a little dizzy. Give me a second." Leonard glanced at Caitlin and Cisco, all three of them frowning, and Leonard's worry deepened when they heard the sounds of Barry vomiting over the speaker._ _

__"Barry—" Cisco cleared his throat, but Barry interrupted him._ _

__"Oh my god, guys, I'm okay. I was dizzy. Now I'm better." Barry's voice was hard and annoyed._ _

__"You've got a mugging three miles away," Leonard said before anyone else could respond, and then he flipped the microphones off. "How often has he been getting sick like that?" Caitlin and Cisco shared a look between them, and Leonard waited it out, taking a drink of his coffee. "He has accelerated healing. He shouldn't be sick."_ _

__Caitlin pursed her lips and seemed to come to a decision, turning in her chair to face Leonard. "The arrhythmia has been intermittent, and Barry's heart beats so fast anyway that it takes a big event for us to notice it."_ _

__"Caitlin—" Cisco reached out and touched her arm, and she looked at him expectantly._ _

__"He's worried, Cisco. Even you should be able to see that." Cisco exhaled a noisy breath and let Caitlin's arm go. "I've seen the dizziness twice, but this is the first time he's gotten sick like this over the comms."_ _

__"He's been knocking stuff over in the lab," Cisco said, staring fixedly at his keyboard. "Even more than usual."_ _

__"But when we get him in for tests, nothing shows up," Caitlin finished. "His CAT scans and MRIs are clean. And then he gets angry at us—"_ _

__"'He thinks we're wasting his time," Cisco said. "It sucks."_ _

__"So you can't find a physical cause," Leonard mused. "Neurological? Psychosomatic?"_ _

__"There's a problem with that," Caitlin murmured. Leonard arched an eyebrow at her and drank his coffee, waiting for her to continue. "There's no definitive test for neurotransmitter dysfunction. Urine tests are… notoriously inaccurate. Most diagnoses are made through questionnaires, but they aren't useful for helping Barry."_ _

__"I assume there's a reason for that." Leonard said, and Caitlin turned to her computer and brought a file up. Leonard read the first few lines and frowned. "'I am impulsive. I crave carbohydrates. My energy is restless.' I see."_ _

__Caitlin raised her hands in frustration. "These are Barry's _baselines_."_ _

__Leonard took a step back and gave Caitlin and Cisco a hard look. "So why isn't there a definitive test?"_ _

__"Uh." Cisco exchanged another look with Caitlin. "Because no one's made one yet?"_ _

__Leonard wrapped both hands around his cup and lowered it, taking a deep breath to keep himself centered. "You can create guns that shoot at absolute cold and absolute hot. You reconfigured the particle accelerator into a prison." He gestured at Cisco. "You apparently costume half the vigilantes in the United States. So why, exactly, hasn't STAR Labs created a reliable neurological test that could help millions of people get accurately diagnosed?"_ _

__"Oh, this is rich." Cisco raised a finger, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. Is Captain Cold taking the high moral ground here?"_ _

__"I don't pretend to be any more or any less than I am," Leonard said. "You're the ones that want to be heroes. This whole"—He waved a dismissive hand—"Flash thing has its moments. Alternate worlds and holes in the sky. Barry is out there saving little old ladies from muggers and rescuing cats from trees. STAR Labs could do more good if you looked at the bigger picture." He saluted Caitlin and Cisco with his coffee cup and drained it before he went back into the kitchen. He took a moment to wash his cup, buying himself time to gather his composure. He was going to take some time away, maybe get dinner, allow himself to cool down. He would continue working on his cold gun modification when he came back._ _

__"Hey!" Leonard felt Barry before he heard his greeting, his body heat against Leonard's back, the smell of ozone and sweat and faded cologne._ _

__Leonard turned and leaned back against the sink, indulging himself in a little smirk as he hooked a finger in one of Barry's belt loops. "Hey." He could see the moment Barry started thinking about kissing him, swaying forward, his pupils blowing wide, and Leonard shook his head. "You okay?"_ _

__Barry gave Leonard a cocky little smile, and damned if that didn't do something for him. "You're worried about me."_ _

__"Don't let it go to your head." Leonard wiggled his fingers, shaking Barry's hip a little. "I'm not going to kiss you. You just threw up."_ _

__Barry vanished for a second and returned, curling his arms around Leonard's waist and pulling him in close. "All better. Fresh and minty."_ _

__"You're killing me, Red." Still, Leonard hooked his thumbs into the back pockets of Barry's jeans and kissed him, a chaste brush of lips. Barry was very minty._ _

__"That's barely a kiss," Barry whispered, the sound almost lost between them. Barry grinned and leaned forward, pressing Leonard a step back until he connected with the sink again. Barry caught at Leonard's bottom lip with his teeth, giving a small, teasing bite, and then he tilted his head, fitting his mouth to Leonard's for real. Leonard's hands twitched and clenched tight on Barry's ass, shamelessly copping a feel, just for the way Barry jumped and started to laugh against his mouth._ _

__"Hey, do we have any—" Leonard tensed, but Barry kept him pinned in place as he turned his head. The kid was familiar, but only from too many nights staring at grainy CCTV footage. Wally looked from Barry to Leonard and back again. "I don't even want to know. I'm just here for ramen."_ _

__Barry frowned. "I think we've got shrimp, but we're out of chicken."_ _

__"You always eat the last damned one, don't you?" Wally complained. Wally came into the kitchen to rummage through the fridge, and Barry finally let Leonard go, looking through the cupboards to his left._ _

__"We have Cup O'Noodles?"_ _

__Leonard's eye twitched, and he watched Wally and Barry wander around the small kitchen in search of terrible food. He told himself that he wasn't going to do anything, but they were wandering around like hungry puppies, and he could feel the moment his resolve cracked. Ramen was fine when you were twenty and too poor for real food, but this sad mess was too much for him. Watching them made him remember what it was like to be eighteen, sharing a one room apartment with Mick, and Leonard went to the fridge, grabbing the magnetic notepad and scrawling a list of ingredients on it. He closed the fridge door on Wally, who barely flashed out of the way in time. "You"—Leonard pointed at Wally—"eat some power bars to take the edge off."_ _

__Wally gave Leonard an annoyed look. "Who died and made you king?"_ _

__Barry took the list out of Leonard's hand, his face brightening. "You're going to cook dinner! You're amazing."_ _

__"Shut up," Leonard said, and pulled his wallet out of his pocket, getting a credit card. "Go to my apartment when you're done and get my casserole dishes. The big frying pan, too."_ _

__"Dude," Wally said, slowly shaking his head. "You're old. You sound like my _dad_."_ _

__"I'm feeling every second of it," Leonard muttered to himself._ _

__Wally and Barry scattered, and Leonard took the time to familiarize himself with the kitchen and the oven. They didn't have any actual dishes, other than coffee mugs, but there were paper plates and plastic utensils, and that would work. Barry was back in approximately forty minutes, and Leonard only let him stay because he couldn't use his left hand. He had three speedsters to feed and four normal humans, including himself. He had gone crazy, cracked from the stress of too much time travel. Next to him, Barry couldn't seem to stop smiling, even when Leonard had to chase him out of the kitchen because he kept stealing bits of lasagna.._ _

__The others stuck their heads into the kitchen, wondering what the hell Leonard was doing there in the first place, but Leonard chased them out with a scowl until he was ready. Barry pushed some of the tables together and helped Len carry everything out — a salad tossed with a vinaigrette, lasagna, trout, tuna casserole, and a broccoli and rice casserole. Leonard hadn't cooked this much since he'd been the one taking care of Lisa._ _

__Jay, Wally, Cisco, and Caitlin circled around the tables warily as Barry gleefully filled his plate._ _

__"Snart, did you really just—"_ _

__"Say one more word." Leonard glared at Cisco, and Cisco wisely shut his mouth._ _

__"Yeah, okay," Wally agreed, and he stepped up to the table to help himself. "Definitely better than ramen." He took a tentative bite of the tuna casserole and nodded. "Consider my silence purchased. Not going to say a word to dad about you two."_ _

__Leonard retreated back to his table to eat in silence, but his eyes kept flickering back to Barry, following the line of Barry's smile as Barry talked with his friends, following Barry's fingers as he gestured while telling a story from work._ _

__Leonard didn't belong here. Science in the morning, working with team Flash, feeding everyone — it wasn't his life and it fit him like a badly sized glove. He had left the Waverider to keep Barry safe, but he missed his team, missed Mick and Sara and their rough humors, Kendra and her fierce loyalty, even Ray and his blind naivete._ _

__Barry glanced over at Leonard, smiled, and Leonard was more sure than ever that Barry was worth the sacrifice.__

 _ _~*~__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys. It's all downhill from here. If you need to, you can stop right now and pretend that Barry and Len will live happily ever after and nothing bad will ever happen. ^^;
> 
> For those of you who want to continue, thank you so much. It's going to be a bit of a bumpy ride until the end.


	10. Hazy Shade of Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You'll know," Leonard had told himself, what felt like a lifetime ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to my betas, dungeonmarm and saekhwa.
> 
> And thank you, to everyone still reading. It means a lot to me that you guys are all still with me. <3

~*~

Leonard's attention was drawn away from his gun for the fourth time in twenty minutes, and he planted his hands against the table, pushing away and grabbing his bag, holstering his gun before he headed toward the door.

"Hey." Cisco frowned as he stared at Leonard, his eyes wary. "Where're you going?"

Leonard paused before he reached the entrance. Everyone was so damned nosy. "None of your business."

"You can't just come and go whenever you want." Cisco folded his arms over his chest defiantly as he stared at Leonard. "Barry might trust you, but I don't."

"And how, exactly, are you going to stop me?" Leonard narrowed his eyes at Cisco, his right hand loose at his side, fingers itching for the familiar weight of his gun. "Are you going to put me in your Pipeline? Try it. I dare you."

"Cisco, let it go," Caitlin said. "Barry's already—"

"Yeah, well, Barry's going a little crazy. I'm not sure if he should be making decisions for us in the first place." Cisco raked his fingers through his hair. "Especially about Snart." 

Leonard wanted to disagree on principle, but there was a part of him that was pleased Cisco wasn't accepting him simply on Barry's word alone.

"Cisco? Caitlin?" Barry's voice was a whisper over the comms. "We just got something on the Royal Flush gang. Where do I need to go?"

Caitlin and Cisco leapt into action, using satellites to pinpoint the gang's location, and Leonard watched with a frustrated sort of resignation as they babbled directions over each other. The Royal Flush gang was a group of simple bikers with delusions of grandeur, and even they had Barry and his friends running in circles.

Leonard stalked over to the console and planted his hands on the table as he leaned toward the microphone, ignoring the way Caitlin and Cisco leaned away from him. "Turn left. You'll meet the first one in half a mile. Disconnect the primary ignition wire on the left side of their bike, next to the motor. It'll disable the motorcycle."

"Got it," Barry responded, and the satellite showed the first one stalled on the road. Leonard fed Barry directions on the other three, and the entirety of the gang was safely caught in less than five minutes.

"This feels familiar," Cisco whispered to Caitlin behind Leonard's back. "What's with Barry and his creepy father figures?"

Leonard cut a glance at Cisco as he pulled back from the microphone. "I'm not interested in being his father." Cisco made a face, but Leonard ignored it as he headed back toward the door. "Call me if something happens with Zoom. Barry has my number."

"You don't want to wait for Barry to come back?" Caitlin asked. "He'll be upset he missed you."

Leonard smiled at Caitlin, a small twist of his lips. "He's seen more than enough of me over the last couple of days." 

Leonard exhaled a breath the moment the door closed behind him, and he reached up to rub tension from the back of his neck. Over the last several months, he'd gotten even more used to peace and quiet, the silence that came from a private job. The team at STAR Labs was bigger than Leonard generally preferred, and he needed some time to unwind from their constant interruptions.

Leonard's bike was where he parked it, and he put on his helmet. Driving from the warehouse to STAR Labs in the first place with his broken hand had been difficult but not impossible, and the safehouse where he had been staying was close. He still needed to pick up his keys and his parka, maybe destroy the rest of his surveillance now that he was officially working with Team Flash.

~*~

Leonard knew something was different the moment he stepped into the safehouse. The air was thick, and his skin prickled with goosebumps. His heartbeat thundered in time with a pulse of magic, a swelling and ebbing of energy that drew him closer and closer to his parka, to the stone that throbbed with unused potential.

"You'll know," he had told himself, what felt like a lifetime ago.

Leonard felt a rising sickness pull deep in his gut, and he went to the drawer where he kept extra gloves, tugging one on his right hand before he went back to his jacket and took the Heartstone from the inner pocket. Even with the barrier of the bag and glove, it made his fingers tingle. His hands were trembling when he shook the stone out of the bag, and he squinted against the light as the stone spilled out onto his palm. It had changed since the last time Leonard had looked at it, the facets of the gem glowing with a deep inner sheen. In the center of the stone were inscribed two words:

_Know Thyself_

The shaking grew worse until Leonard trembled outright, and for a second, Leonard was filled to the brim with a desperate, terrified rage. He threw the stone at the wall with all his strength. It bounced onto the carpet and lay there, unbroken, an accusation. A choice.

Leonard went to the bathroom and closed the door against the call of magic, yanking off his glove and splashing water over his head to clear it. He couldn't afford to be emotional about any of this. He took another slow breath and splashed cold water over the back of his neck, staring at himself in the mirror.

He could imagine it: a different Leonard in a different time, who hadn't gotten the chance to be forewarned, who continued in the Waverider, surviving on phone calls to Barry in 2016. One who celebrated across time when Barry defeated Zoom on his own. A Leonard who didn't realize that Barry was sick until it was too late and spent years trying to find a way to fix his mistakes.

Leonard felt sick. He closed his eyes and inhaled a slow breath. 

Another.

And another.

Once he had himself under control, he pulled the glove back on and went out into his bedroom, picking the stone up from the floor and placing it back in its bag. Then he deleted the surveillance files from his computer and grabbed his keys and his parka, shrugging into it as he jogged down the stairs to the parking lot where his bike waited.

He made it safely to his private apartment and put his parka and the Heartstone in the back of his closet, muffling the deep pull of its magic, and then he poured himself a shot of whiskey, downing it in one swallow. All he had were suspicions, and he wasn't the kind of person who overreacted. Once he had his drink, he settled on his sofa, spreading his plans out on the coffee table. Rip had been under the impression that Barry defeated Zoom on his own, but Leonard saw no reason to withhold his help, especially since he had offered it in the first place. Especially when he needed the distraction.

In the course of several hours, the problems he'd been having with the cold mine designs seemed to fall away. Instead of starting from scratch, Leonard began with the modified plans from his critical core modification to his gun to function in smaller, more controlled cold explosions, although he would have to convince Wells or Cisco to build a working prototype. It was something that could actually work. A new tool in his arsenal.

Leonard remembered turning on the lights at some point, but he was still surprised by the knock on his door. He'd been so focused on work that he hadn't realized how much time had passed. He got up, the small of his back aching from sitting for so long, and looked through the peephole. Barry was on the other side, and Leonard tensed, his gut twisting with discomfort. He opened the door anyway.

"Hey!" Barry said cheerfully, and stepped forward, wrapping his arms tight around Leonard's waist, pressing his face to Leonard's neck. Leonard closed the door behind him and gently detached Barry, searching Barry's face. Barry looked back, open and curious. His eyes were dilated. "You weren't at STAR when I got off work."

"It was too loud." Leonard turned away and went back to the couch. 

Barry followed and curled up against his side, peering at the papers on the table. "Wally was disappointed you weren't cooking dinner again tonight."

"I'm not going to cook every day. It takes time." Leonard set aside his plans for the cold mines and smoothed out his map of Central.

Barry laughed at that. "What'd'you say we take a break and get some dinner? It'll be nice to just have the two of us again."

Leonard glanced at Barry and shook his head. "What you should do is go home. West is already suspicious enough, and you've spent the last two nights with me."

Barry tilted his head and looked at Leonard, his smile faltering. "You've never complained before."

Leonard's mouth twisted into a small smile that he didn't feel. "I'm not complaining now."

"Well, if you're going to make me go, I deserve some kisses before I leave," Barry teased, swinging one of his long legs over Leonard's lap and settling, curling his hands around Leonard's neck. Leonard watched when Barry's skin flushed, and he raised his hand, curled it around the nape of Barry's neck and rubbed his thumb over the short hairs there, feeling cool sweat dampen Barry's hairline. He tilted his head up and allowed Barry to take two chaste kisses before he stopped him.

"I'm serious, Red. Go home."

Barry deflated. "Fine. I get it." He slid off Leonard's lap and went to the door, pausing to look back. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Leonard nodded. "I've got a plan for Zoom. I think it might work."

Barry's smile was immediate and bright. "You're great at planning."

Leonard shook his head. "Get out of here, kid. Have a good night." Barry let himself out, and Leonard got up and locked the door before he allowed himself a breath. He rested his forehead against the door for two seconds and then straightened, going back to his map.

The stone beat in the back of Leonard's mind like a drum, distant and muffled — _now now now_. He shook his head. He didn't deserve to have the Heartstone, didn't know what he needed to ask for. "A wish," he had told himself, but wishes took too many forms, were too easily twisted, too easily selfish. He wanted things too much and too fiercely to be safe with it.

Know Thyself. The problem was that Leonard did know himself. There wasn't any space left in him for selflessness.

~*~

An hour later, he took the Heartstone out of the closet.

~*~

Leonard came to STAR Labs early the next morning, and as he'd hoped, Cisco, Caitlin, and Barry weren't in yet, although the light was on in Well's lab. Leonard could respect that kind of work ethic. He knocked, and Wells looked up, waving him in.

"What do you need?"

Leonard set his file on Wells' desk. "I've drafted some plans for something that might help us. Do you think you can make a prototype?"

Wells picked up the file and leafed through it. He paused after a moment, coming to some sort of decision, and gave Leonard a more intense look. "I looked you up."

Leonard arched his eyebrow and leaned against the corner of Wells' desk, shrugging a shoulder. "Let me guess. You found some fingerprints. A prison number. A fetching mug shot."

"You're very intelligent, Snart." Wells shook his head. "With some training, you could have been a very good engineer."

"A compliment from Dr. Wells?" Leonard smirked. "Stop. You're making me tingly."

Wells gave Leonard a narrow, displeased look. "Once Zoom is defeated, Garrick and I will be returning back to Earth-2. This Flash could use your experience."

"And Barry thought you didn't care." Leonard shook his head. "I'm not in the market to be a mentor."

"Pity." Wells shook his head. "I'll review your ideas and see if it's worth it to make a prototype."

"Great. Excellent talk." Leonard left Wells' lab and took the table he'd claimed for himself, using one of the powerful computers to start scouting potential locations where they could set a trap for Zoom. Preferably somewhere with room to maneuver and a minimum of civilians.

His eyes were automatically drawn to the entrance when Cisco and Caitlin came in, Cisco carrying a large bag with him. Barry trudged quietly behind them, steps dragging, shoulders slumped. He looked like he hadn't slept at all the previous night. Their eyes met across the room, and Leonard could see the yearning on Barry's face. There was a part of Leonard that wanted to draw Barry in and let him take whatever it was he needed, but he refused. He'd worked with enough addicts during his earlier criminal days that — now that he was looking — it was obvious. Leonard didn't know how or when or what had happened, but he wasn't going to ignore it anymore.

Cisco saw him and stalked over, pulling a mess of cables and a metal headset out of his bag. He dumped it all on Leonard's desk with a triumphant look on his face. "There. I built it. Jerk."

"Great," Leonard said. "Let's talk over my plan. After, we'll see if it actually works."

"Yeah, okay," Cisco said, staring at Leonard like he was surprised he wasn't arguing.

Leonard stood and went over to Cisco and Caitlin's computers to co-op the displays, and pulled up the map of Central that he had looked at earlier. "Wells, get out here for a second," he said over the intercom, and he paused until Wells came out of his office. "Okay. Zoom has been quiet since he attacked me, but I'm assuming he's still casing the place. It's what I would do." He circled three parks on the map for the others to see. "He's going to go after the speedsters. I suggest we make them all easy targets, here here and here. I've been looking at your progress, and Barry's still the fastest of you three"—Leonard glanced up to include Jay and Wally—"so if I were Zoom, I'd take him out first. Leave the easier pickings for later."

"We can keep in radio contact," Jay said, "and speed to help whichever one gets attacked first."

"If Snart's prototype holds, it'll be useful." Wells nodded in thought, and Cisco raised a hand.

"Wait, prototype? What prototype?" Cisco traded a wary look between Wells and Leonard. "Look, we don't really trust either of you—"

"It's the cold mines you were sketching last night," Barry intruded, his voice muted. "That's what the prototype is, right?"

"Yes." Leonard turned back to the map. "If we can get them to work, we can detonate them, maybe slow him down long enough for one of us to inject him with Wells' serum. If they don't work, then one of us will have to distract Zoom until the other speedsters show up. If the three of you attack him at the same time, he might be overwhelmed. He seems to like taking his targets one by one."

"I can work on the prototype today," Wells said. "If I make it work, Cisco and I can make a few more, perhaps… six, altogether. Two for each of them."

"So… what?" Wally asked. "Is this the best we can do? Run around and see which one he tries to kill first?"

"Isn't that what you've been doing already?" Leonard asked. "Zoom has his patterns. We need to take advantage of it. He wants the Speed Force, and you three are the only way for him to get more."

"This sucks," Wally said unhappily.

"Well," Cisco heaved a sigh. "It's better than what we had before, which was— Oh, nothing."

"Give me three days," Wells said. "Assuming Zoom doesn't attack us again, we'll be ready by that point."

"All right," Leonard agreed. "Let's get this done." He saved the maps and the outline of his plan to their computers, so they could look at it and make any changes if they needed to, and then ran a hand over his head. He frowned at himself and stopped mid-motion, halting the anxious tell. He turned to Cisco. "So you built the scanner. Congratulations. Have you tested it yet?"

"Hey, I'm not an amateur," Cisco said. "Of course I tested it. On me."

"Test it on someone else, then," Leonard said. "Me or Dr. Snow."

"Len—" Barry inched closer, but Leonard ignored him, waiting on Cisco's response.

"I'm sorry, are you really questioning whether my inventions work, because dude, I can handle a lot of crap, but—"

"Len—" Barry tried again, and he reached for Leonard's arm.

"Not now, Red," Leonard bit out, and Barry flashed between Leonard and Cisco, seizing both Leonard's arms.

"You don't have to do everything today," Barry entreated. "Stop arguing with Cisco and _talk_ to me."

"Barry—" Leonard tugged his arms free of Barry's hands. "Please."

Barry's eyes were sharp on Leonard's face, and he took a step closer, lowering his voice. "Are we running out of time or something? Are you freaking out because of time travel stuff?"

Leonard felt a stab of want deep in his gut as he looked at Barry, and it made him feel sick to his stomach again. "Let's talk. Privately."

Barry nodded, frowning and wide-eyed with worry, and Leonard set his hand against the small of Barry's back, leading them into a more private room. Leonard looked at all the glass and shook his head, releasing the blinds and turning them so they were safely blocked out from prying eyes. He wondered if he should lock the door, and after a moment, he did, because whatever they were going to talk about here was too important to be interrupted.

"You're making me nervous," Barry said after a moment of silence. "Len, what's going on? Are you—are you angry with me? Did I do something wrong?"

Leonard turned to see Barry sitting in one of the chairs, hands folded in his lap, holding tightly enough that his knuckles were white. Leonard sat in the chair next to him and took Barry's hands, smoothing his fingers over Barry's knuckles until Barry relaxed. "No," Leonard said. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then what is it?" Barry asked, frustration etched on his face. "You were weird last night, and you can barely even look at me today. Something must have happened."

"Don't worry about it. Promise me." Leonard squeezed Barry's fingers. "We're going to focus on taking Zoom out. That's all you need to think about."

"You can't ask me not to worry about you," Barry protested. "Is that what it is? If it's not me and it's not Waverider, is it the _hero_ thing?" Barry's face softened, and it was almost too much. "I know you keep telling yourself that you're not, but look at all the things that you've done. Helping everyone on Waverider to stop Savage. Helping us stop Zoom. You deserve to be here, just like any of the others."

Leonard stared at Barry, and he craved every second of Barry's attention, every word Barry was saying, the validation, but Barry was wrong. Barry had always been wrong about him. He released Barry's hands and stroked his fingers through Barry's hair, the strands catching against his skin, and Leonard watched unblinkingly as he cupped Barry's face between his palms, watched as Barry's eyes grew heavy-lidded in pleasure, his mouth parted and so very, very tempting.

"I'm sorry," Leonard whispered, and he drew Barry in, curled his hand around the nape of Barry's neck as he kissed him. It was so sweet that it ached, and Barry made a small sound that Leonard wanted to hear over and over again. Barry was in his lap in a second, fingernails scraping over Leonard's scalp as Barry clutched at him, his tongue hot and wet and hungry in Leonard's mouth. Leonard let it happen, let Barry kiss him like it would never be enough, stopping it only when Barry gave a pained whine and started pawing at Leonard's belt. Leonard caught at Barry's hands and shook his head, offering Barry a lopsided smile. "We've got too much to do, Red."

Barry blinked and focused on Leonard's face, his cheeks flushed, eyes sparkling. "Right. Zoom first."

"Yeah." Leonard nodded and swatted Barry's ass to get him up and out of the chair. "Zoom first."

~*~

Wally claimed Barry for some training, and Leonard looked around the lab for Cisco and Caitlin. They were in another room, and through the glass Leonard could see that they were working on Cisco's invention, Caitlin kindly submitting to the experiment. He should have marched over to them and told them his suspicions. He should have taken out his notebook and reviewed the timeline of his relationship to Barry that he'd begun months ago. 

Instead, he followed after Barry and Wally to the basement, where the particle accelerator had been partially converted into a small track. He watched them from the upper deck, following each of Barry's laps until Barry went so fast he was nothing but a red blur. Wally matched his pace, a smear of yellow, and they went around and around and around.

In the reflection of the glass, Leonard could see when the entrance slid open and when Caitlin stepped in. He didn't bother giving her any acknowledgement and kept his eyes pinned on the blurs below.

"You really do love him, don't you?"

Leonard glanced at Caitlin from the corner of his eye, but she wasn't looking at him, face turned forward. "You've already given me the talk. Relax."

Caitlin shook her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before she turned to face him. "I had nightmares. About the bomb beneath my chair. Heatwave promising to burn me."

"Mick wants to burn everything."

"That's not the point." Caitlin raised her hand, stopping just before she touched the glass. "If you had asked me a month ago if I could forgive you, I would have... I don't know."

"I'm not asking for forgiveness." Leonard folded his arms over his chest. "I did what I had to do to get what I wanted. Nothing more. Nothing less."

"To get his attention. Barry's attention. I don't know why it didn't occur to me before, that you were pulling his pigtails on the playground."

Leonard shook his head. "Medical doctor and armchair psychiatrist. Peachy."

Caitlin looked embarrassed for a second. "I didn't come here to lecture you. The way you were looking just... reminded me so much of the way I used to look at Ronnie. It's nice, that's all."

Leonard turned away from the window. He never knew Dr. Stein's first half, although he'd heard the name a couple of times. And he wasn't very good at sympathy. "Does the new scanner work?"

Caitlin gave Leonard a sad, commiserating smile and nodded. "It works."

"Then we need to talk." Leonard pushed away from the wall and strode away from her and up the stairs to the first floor. Cisco was in the same room as before, so Leonard opened the door and gestured at Caitlin, so she would precede him into the room.

Cisco took one look at Leonard's face and skirted around the edge of the table, placing it between the two of them as he glanced between Leonard and Caitlin. "What's up?"

"Snart said we needed to talk," Caitlin said, frowning up at Leonard.

Leonard closed his eyes for thirty seconds, organizing his thoughts. When he was ready, he opened his eyes again, impassive and calm. "He's addicted to me."

"He who—" Cisco frowned, but it was Caitlin who finished his sentence. 

"Barry?" The look on Caitlin's face was angry and a little betrayed, given the conversation they'd had minutes ago, but there was nothing that Leonard could do about it.

Leonard swallowed. "I'm almost positive."

"Why didn't you say anything about this before?" Caitlin asked.

"I wasn't convinced anything was wrong." Leonard turned his back to stare out the glass panes of the door. "Not until last night."

"What happened last night?" Cisco asked warily. "Please tell me it wasn't NC-17."

Leonard jerked around to pin Cisco with a glare. "Dilated eyes. Cold sweat. Mood swings. Losing control of his speed. Nausea. Should I continue?"

That shut Cisco up. Finally.

"All right." Caitlin dropped her arms. "Let's see if this helps us diagnose what's wrong with him." She didn't bother looking at anyone before she was out the door. Cisco gathered the scanner, and Leonard followed slowly after them.

"Barry, come up here for a sec," Cisco said into the microphone at his station, and Barry was there instantly, a little crackle of lightning at his heels.

"Yeah?" Barry's eyes tracked over Caitlin and Cisco, and he turned until he found Leonard, his eyes lighting up. Leonard smirked and settled against the wall, folding his arms over his chest again.

"We have one last test to try," Cisco said, and Leonard could already see Barry losing interest, his shoulders slumping as he indulged in a long eye roll.

"It's just one, Red," Leonard said before Barry could start complaining. "Do it for me." Barry wavered, obviously torn, and Leonard uncurled from the wall with a calculated smile. "Caitlin tested it."

"All right, all right," Barry agreed, raising his hands in surrender, and he hopped onto one of the hospital beds, bowing his head so Cisco could get the headset on him. There was a moment's pause as Cisco set up the equipment and began the baseline settings, and then he flipped the switch. The machine whirred.

"What the f..." Cisco breathed, and Leonard watched Cisco and Caitlin go pale. He looked at the screen, but it was numbers and lines that didn't mean anything to him.

"That sounded bad," Barry said, and he gnawed his bottom lip in worry.

Leonard watched Barry chew for a minute, looked over at Cisco and Caitlin, who were absorbed in the readings, and reached out, cupping Barry's jaw and pressing his thumb against the indentation. Barry stopped chewing almost immediately, his eyes growing warm and affectionate, and Cisco glanced at them, nudging Caitlin and pointing to one of the measurements.

"Okay, dude, this is crazy," Cisco said, pointing a finger in amazement at the screen. "Your neurotransmitters are whacked."

"A sound medical assessment," Leonard said dryly.

Barry snorted. "Don't be a dick, Len."

"Yeah, _Len_ ," Cisco muttered.

"Barry." Caitlin's serious tone broke through, and she slid a chair in front of him, sitting down and taking his hand. "You are very sick. It looks like you've been suffering— Dopamine deficiency, serotonin syndrome, your... oxytocin and vasopressin are—" Caitlin shook her head. "I've never seen anything like this. How long have you been feeling sick?"

Barry frowned, and Leonard thought about all the times Barry hadn't been able to control his speed, or the mood swings he always apologized to his friends for, the first irrational decisions he'd started making. It made the final piece click in Leonard's head. 

"Barry." Leonard smiled again, a brief twitch of his lips, and Barry smiled back automatically. "You remember when you asked me for coffee?"

"Wha— Yeah, of course." Barry frowned again, but it was more thoughtful, more considering. "You and your team were fighting, and I went in to help and got zapped with something. And then there was you." Barry's face softened, and he looked at Leonard with a sort of wonder that made Leonard's heart rise miserably into his throat. "All awesome, with your gun and your parka."

Leonard shook his head and looked at Caitlin and Cisco. "Four and a half months. That's how long he's been sick."

They stood in an awkward silence for a minute, and then Cisco cleared his throat. "There's got to be a way to fix this, right?" Cisco looked at Caitlin, Caitlin looked at Leonard, and Leonard looked down at his broken hand, rubbing his thumb over his left palm and very carefully not thinking about the Heartstone waiting in his jeans pocket, throbbing with an angry chill against his leg.

"Why are you here every time I walk in?" West groused, and Leonard stiffened, his expression going flat and smooth before he turned to look at West and... Iris. _Iris_.

"We need to talk." Leonard pointed a finger at Barry. "Stay right there." 

Barry, who had been in the process of slipping off the medical bed, resituated himself with an annoyed look. "Yes sir, O Captain, my Captain." Barry rolled his eyes, and Leonard had to turn away before he kissed the stupid kid senseless.

Cisco gave Barry a concerned look and then waved his hand at everyone, pulling them into a separate room. Leonard paused only long enough to grab his parka pulling it on as he followed, and he could feel West's eyes on him the entire way. 

They spent a good fifteen minutes explaining to West what the scanner was, what was happening in Barry's brain, how long he had been sick.

"So how do we fix it?" West asked.

Caitlin gave a helpless shrug. "For normal people, I'd suggest a prescription, but Barry would just burn through it. There's no existing medication that's strong enough to help him. And it's not just something we can build on a whim." That last part she said pointedly at Leonard, and he inclined his head, acknowledging his — perhaps emphatic — feelings about the neurotransmitter scanning equipment.

"So what happens if we can't stabilize him?" Iris asked, and she grabbed her phone, her thumb sliding across the surface.

Caitlin shook her head. "He'll die? I mean. That's not a question. He'll die. Even with his accelerated healing, it can only keep him going so long. Eventually, his serotonin will dip far and long enough that he'll seizure, maybe go into another coma."

West let out a shaky breath and turned to pull Iris into a hug, his eyes wet and agonized. Leonard darted a quick, hard look between the Wests and Cisco and Caitlin. His hand twitched, but it was safely hidden by his crossed arms. It was one small thing Leonard was grateful for.

"I may have a fix," he said, and he raised his chin, his jaw going hard when everyone in the room turned to look at him.

"What kind of fix?" West asked, his eyes going narrow and suspicious in an instant.

Leonard hesitated, knowing what Hunter would say about making ripples in the timeline, but he wasn't sure if it was the safer option. "My life has been interesting, this last year. Let's leave it at that."

"It really has," Cisco agreed. "And you're probably better off not knowing anything about it."

"That's usually my policy on Snart." 

"I was given this," Leonard said, just to bring everyone back on track. "I don't trust myself to use it."

"That doesn't sound ominous at all," Cisco rolled his eyes. "Let's see it."

Leonard gave Cisco an annoyed look, and took the bag from his pocket. He pulled on a single latex glove over his right hand, taken from one of the drawers, and walked over to Iris, offering her the bag. Detective West tensed next to her, and Leonard raised his bad hand. "Don't get your hackles up."

Iris frowned at the bag and opened it, peering inside. "It's... a rock?"

Leonard rubbed a knuckle against his forehead, restless frustration making him antsy. "It's not a rock." He hesitated for another second and then shook his head. "Not just a rock. I was told that it would grant a wish." He retreated back to the wall, folding his arms over his chest and resting his head back, staring up at the ceiling. "Offering you magic rocks that grant wishes. You must think I'm crazy."

"Not the first time," Cisco quipped, but then he made a sound like he regretted the choice that led him to make that joke.

Iris frowned at Cisco and tilted the bag, the stone falling into the cup of her palm. Like a light switch, the pulse of the magic that Leonard had grown used to thrumming through the air went flat and silent. It left him off balance, his ears ringing, and he watched as if from a distance when West squinted and took the stone from Iris, holding it up to the light as if he would be able to figure it out.

For a long, terrifying second, Leonard wondered if he'd made the whole thing up. No one was with him when he met his future self. Leonard could have been suffering from time psychosis without knowing. Leonard averted his eyes, staring hard at the floor, and then he stepped into West's space. "Forget it," he said, grabbing the stone from West's hand—

—the stone flared with such intense brilliance that Leonard was blinded, and he clenched his hand into a fist, blinking spots out of his vision. West had his hand half-raised, and Leonard glanced left and right, taking in Iris, Caitlin, and Cisco. 

"You saw that?" he asked.

"It might have been the last thing I ever see," Cisco said. "Ow, my eyes."

"So what does that mean?" Iris asked, her eyebrows knitting together.

"If it grants wishes, and that's a big if," Caitlin said, "it's possible that Snart is the only one who can use it."

West looked up at the ceiling and huffed a bitter, unhappy laugh, his eyes shining damply. "You're telling me we have to trust Snart to save Barry's life."

Caitlin nodded, her face twisting in unhappiness. "Essentially, yes."

Leonard wanted to say _no_. Wanted to say _I can't do this, I'm sorry._ But at that point, there was nothing left to lose. Worst case scenario was already happening, and he knew he wouldn't let Barry die if he had a way to help him, even if helping tore away everything that made Barry Allen _Barry_. "I need to talk to him. Alone."

West stepped forward like he wanted to protest, but Irs shook her head, resting her hand on her father's arm. "Okay," she said, and West looked back at her in surprise. "If this is our only chance, we have to take it."

Leonard gave one short nod. Now that the decision had been made, he didn't waste any more time, sliding the stone back into his pocket and pulling the glove off his right hand, tossing it into a trashcan before he headed out the door. Barry had remained in place, sitting on the medical bed as the scanner recorded his neurotransmitter levels, and Leonard went to him, carefully removing the headset. 

"Are you okay?" Barry looked right and left to verify that it was just the two of them, and then he reached out, curling his fingers around Leonard's sleeve. "I was getting nervous. Things looked pretty tense in there."

"They were." Leonard squeezed Barry's hand reassuringly.

Barry looked down at their joined hands. "I'm guessing it's bad."

"It's bad." Leonard's voice was stripped down, raw and soft, and it felt strange, setting Captain Cold aside. "You're dying."

Barry's forehead wrinkled as he stared at Leonard. "Is my brain that messed up? I mean, I don't know everything. I'm not a neurologist, but—"

"I may have a cure," Leonard said before Barry could get himself worked up. "Magic. I don't know what will happen if I use it."

Barry looked down in thought. "If you cure me, will that change the way I feel?"

"Barry—"

"I'm not stupid, Len," Barry bit out. "Every neurotransmitter Caitlin mentioned affects emotions. Being in love. Just tell me the truth. Will it change the way I feel about you?"

"I don't know," Leonard answered honestly.

Barry's face crumpled. "Then I don't want it."

Leonard shook his head. "Barry. You don't mean that."

"I do." Barry's throat bobbed as he swallowed. "I do mean it. Central doesn't need me— Wally doesn't really need my help anymore, and he's almost as fast. Please, just take me to your apartment, or—or I'll take us anywhere you want, just say the word."

Leonard clasped Barry's hand between his, not moving, just holding. "That's not happening, Red."

"Why?" Barry's head shot back up, and he stared at Leonard with angry, red-rimmed eyes. "You said your cure is magic. Why won't you let me love you?"

Leonard flinched at the words, his jaw going tense. His face ached. "It's not that easy."

"It is that easy." Barry's bottom lip trembled, and Leonard wanted to reach out and touch Barry's cheek or pull him closer, but he was intensely aware Barry's family was probably watching them talk, and he refused to be any more vulnerable. "You and me, we're good together, Len. You know we are. Let me stay with you. Please." Barry reached out, and Leonard forced himself to remain still. Barry's hand was warm on his cheek, and goosebumps rose on Leonard's skin as he turned his face, pressing into Barry's palm. 

"All right," he said, and he leaned away from the caress of Barry's fingers, clasping Barry's hand between his once more.

"Yeah?" Barry asked uncertainly, a tentative smile curling the corners of his mouth. His eyes brightened with hope for a moment, and then his expression went tight and a little suspicious, tension coiling in his shoulders. "Do you promise? That nothing will change?"

It was easy enough to smile. It was always easier when Leonard was conning someone. "Yeah, okay. Nothi—"

"Don't do that." Barry tore his hand away from Leonard's and moved off the bed, pressing into Leonard's space and grabbing handfuls of Leonard's parka. "Don't 'yeah, okay' me, Len. Promise me. Promise _me_."

Leonard spared a thought for Barry's family, but he was already screwed, so he dragged Barry in, closing the last scant inch between them, and pressed his face into the curve of Barry's throat, drawing a shuddering breath. "I promise." He swallowed, and Barry leaned back, cupping Leonard's face between his hands and giving him another long, intent look. "Nothing will change, Barry."

Barry nodded, relaxing a little, and he let his hands rest against Leonard's parka. Leonard took a second to recollect himself and then pulled away, grabbing a chair with his right hand and setting it in front of Barry. "I don't know what's going to happen," Leonard warned. "Sit back down and close your eyes. Don't think about anything."

Barry nodded and scooted back onto the bed, reaching for Leonard's left hand, palm to palm, careful of the splint, and closed his eyes. Leonard took a long, slow breath and looked his fill. He cleared his mind and thought of nothing but Barry: Barry, who was a hero, who didn't stop helping anyone, even old men with no real chance at redemption. Barry, who deserved more than a crappy magic spell. Barry wasn't pure or innocent, but he was _good_ , good in a way few people were. The kid deserved to get his life back. Leonard was selfish, but surely, with a wish at his fingertips, he could be more than that, more like the man Barry thought he could be. Just for a second.

_Please_.

Leonard curled his right hand in his pocket, pulling out the Heartstone, and it blazed in his palm, leaving his skin burning with cold. Barry gasped, his eyes flying open, and they shone with the same ethereal light as the Heartstone, a blue so bright it was unreal, singeing an afterimage into Leonard's eyelids. It lasted forever. It lasted a second.

The Heartstone disintegrated into dust in Leonard's hand.

Barry swayed on the bed and then toppled over. Caitlin and Cisco rushed into the room, and Leonard pushed away from them, his skin crawling. He escaped to the wall closest to the entrance, shaking as he folded his arms over his chest. 

They were all coming out to see Barry, West and Iris standing to the side, hugging each other as they waited for Barry to wake up, Wally a blur until he stood at their side. Caitlin worked feverishly to hook up an IV, to reset the scanner to track his neurotransmitter activity.

There was nothing more Leonard could do here. He was done.

The distraction was exactly what he needed. No one even noticed when he left.

~*~


	11. Cold as Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leonard had always been good at letting go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to dungeonmarm and saekhwa for betaing and holding my hand through this last chapter. They have been incredible cheerleaders and so supportive of this fic for the last three months I've been writing it, and I'm so grateful. Thanks, bbs. <3
> 
> And thank you so much to everyone who's read this story, commented, or left kudos. This has been a great fandom experience, and I hope this finale is worth all the pain.
> 
> There is talk about all of the issues with consent between Barry and Len in this story, so just be careful if that's one of your triggers. <3

~*~

Leonard stared at his phone.

Three hours had passed since he'd used the Heartstone to try and save Barry's life, and here he was, sitting in a crappy dive bar, staring at his burner phone. He needed to make a clean getaway, destroy the phone so Barry couldn't call him, strip down his apartment, and find himself a new home. Not in Central, that would be too easy. But somewhere. Metropolis was always nice this time of year.

The phone buzzed, and Leonard swiped his finger across the screen, finding a text message from an unknown number. _It's Caitlin_ , the message read. _He's okay. You cured him._

A second buzz a moment later. _Thank you._

Leonard exhaled, downed the remainder of his whiskey, and then pulled money out of his wallet to cover his tab. Waiting any longer was only delaying the inevitable. Even if Barry called him, there wasn't anything Leonard could say in his defense.

He popped open the back of the phone and removed the battery and the SIM card. He crushed the SIM card beneath his boot and threw the other pieces in the dumpster. Disposing of the phone released Leonard from his inertia, and he drove his motorcycle to his apartment, taking the broken down boxes and packing tape he always kept in his bedroom closet. He went room by room, deciding what he needed, what he loved, what he could leave behind without a thought.

He had always been good at letting go.

Leonard's sheets still smelled like Barry, so he grabbed a blanket from the linen closet and laid out on the couch. He caught four or five hours of restless sleep and then was back on his feet, brewing a strong pot of coffee to keep him going. The apartment felt haunted, for lack of a better word—everywhere he turned, he remembered Barry. His kitchen, the couch, his bedroom, and with every memory, his chest grew tighter and tighter.

He started to take his paintings off the wall to force himself to be quiet and methodical. He had to be gentle with some of his art, and that more than anything helped Leonard keep his focus. He carefully leaned each painting against the wall, not wanting to damage the canvas, and then started packing his clothing. Thrown onto the floor of his closet was the duffle bag full of his stuff from Waverider, and he opened it, sorting through to see if anything important still remained. 

He sighed when he found the paperwork for the trust he made for himself, little more than a trophy. It still looked brand new, and without the aging, there was no way to prove its provenance. It was still a nice reminder, though, so he packed it back in and dropped the bag by the foot of his bed. He looked around the room. There was nothing else of any particular importance to him. Lamp, bed, dresser—they could all be replaced. He split his shoes and clothing into two groups: keep and donate. Time for the next room then.

Leonard worked methodically: bedroom, bathroom, kitchen. When he reached his living room, there wasn't much left—some pictures of Lisa, the paintings he'd already taken down. He went to his bookshelf, packing away the books he wanted to keep: genre, and then alphabetized, just like always.

He felt a breeze at his back, and he took a deep breath, standing and wiping his palms on his jeans before he turned around. Barry stood behind him. The kid never knew when to cut and run.

Barry looked over Leonard's empty walls before focusing on Leonard, and Leonard crossed his arms over his chest.

"Snart."

That one word told Leonard everything he needed to know. He turned away and continued taking down his books. "Flash."

"Wait, I didn't mean—That came out wrong." Barry sighed. "Len."

"Don't." There was a dull roaring in Leonard's ears, and he took his next book from his bookshelf, setting it in the box. He waited for one minute, two, and then turned to face Barry again. Barry was turned around, hands clenched tight in his hair, and Leonard's palms itched with the urge to touch him. "Why did you come here?"

Barry spun around, his eyes wide, and he opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. "You were gone." Barry dropped his hands and drew in a shuddering breath. "I woke up, and you were gone."

"I wasn't exactly welcome." Leonard shook his head and folded his arms over his chest, leaning back against the bookcase. It was sturdy, and part of him felt like he needed the support. "How do you feel?"

Barry shifted from side to side, and Leonard stared, unblinking, focusing on the rustle of Barry's clothes, the sound of his feet against Leonard's carpet. "Better, I guess. They did a bunch of tests," Barry said finally. "My brain chemistry's back to normal, so that's... That's something."

There was a tangled knot of emotion in Leonard's chest that he didn't bother to try and unravel—relief, resignation, and beneath it all, a sick sense of disappointment. "Good." Leonard swallowed and nodded at Barry, slow and natural. "That's good."

Barry averted his eyes, his attention flickering around the apartment. "You're leaving?"

"I thought it would be best," Leonard watched Barry avoid looking at him and they fell into another awkward silence. Barry was obviously struggling with something, fidgeting in place, unable to focus on anything for more than a second or two. Leonard let the tension hold, let it stretch painfully between them, and then took pity on the kid. His voice was softer when he spoke again. "What are you doing here, Red?"

"I—" Barry swallowed, and he finally looked at Leonard again, his eyes shiny with unshed tears. "I remember everything."

Leonard swallowed around the lump in his throat. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Barry's forehead furrowed, and Leonard had to look away, had to focus on anything that wasn't Barry. "I mean, you didn't _know_ —"

"I—" _Rape_ was the word that came to Leonard's mind, but he couldn't force it out. He had made his life out of shades of gray, made of clear lines that he refused to cross, and he'd broken more than one chasing after Barry, who was never his in the first place. He forced himself to meet Barry's eyes, his voice like gravel when he managed to speak again. "You were sick. You couldn't say no to me. I raped you, so yeah, I think I owe you an apology."

"You didn't—" Barry exhaled and raised a hand to the back of his neck. "I don't _feel_ like you did. I feel like I loved you and then I woke up just… not. I remember—" Barry turned away from Leonard again, pacing the length of Leonard's living room as if that would help him order his thoughts. "I remember everything, but it's like—There's a curtain or something. It's all right here, but it doesn't feel the same. It's so weird, I woke up, and—for the first time in four months, you weren't the first thing I thought about." Barry ran a hand through his hair, so full of nervous energy that Len could almost feel it in the space between them. "I came because you weren't there, and you should have been there."

"I didn't belong there, kid," Leonard said. "And if you thought about it, you'd know I'm right."

"I hate it when you call me 'kid,'" Barry said miserably.

"Listen," Leonard said, sharp and short. "If you came to yell at me, just get it out of the way. There's no point dragging this out."

Barry stared at Leonard, looking wounded, and he curled his arms around himself as his mouth twisted into a grimace. "You really don't care, do you?" Barry asked, and the words were like a punch to Leonard's gut. Fortunately, he'd learned to absorb blows a long time ago. "You really can just pack up and leave, like none of it mattered. Like we didn't share anything."

"It wasn't real, Barry." Leonard struggled to keep his voice steady. He succeeded, but it was a close thing. "That's the only thing that matters."

"You promised," Barry whispered, and the first tears spilled down his cheeks. "You promised me nothing would change, and now I don't feel it at all, and I _miss_ it. You lied to me."

"You were sick and delusional," Leonard said, his voice chilled. He kept his eyes hard and unblinking as he stared at Barry. "Of course I lied to you."

"It's not fair." Barry turned away from Leonard again, staring at the blank wall in front of him.

Leonard shook his head. "Life isn't fair. We get over it. We move on." He forced himself to take a breath, his shoulders so tense he was starting to get a headache. "And I should have known better."

"Wha—" Barry scoffed and shook his head. "That's ridiculous. You don't know everything, even if you pretend like you do."

Leonard pinned Barry with a look and stalked toward him, anger and fury and disappointed loathing rising to the surface. "That's what you think? That I didn't know something was wrong?" Leonard scoffed and watched Barry take one step back for every step he took forward, until Barry hit the wall behind him. "You think there wasn't something in the back of my mind, telling me this was too good to be true? You're so goddamned naive." Leonard planted his hands on the wall, caging Barry between them. Barry didn't flinch, his jaw jutting out with that familiar bravado.

And damn it all, Leonard still wanted him.

He wanted Barry furious and full of self-righteousness as much as he wanted Barry eager and yielding, and he could see it in Barry's eyes, the lack of what had grown so familiar. He could kiss Barry right now, saw it in the way Barry leaned his head back against the wall, and Barry might have even let him. Instead, Leonard leaned close, pausing just before his lips touched Barry's ear. "I'm a criminal, Red. I lie. I hurt people. And I take things that don't belong to me."

Leonard pushed away from the wall, away from Barry, pausing only briefly when Barry laughed, hard and bitter. "You're such a hypocrite."

"Get out." Leonard's voice was calm and flat, and then Barry's hands were on Leonard's back, spinning him around and pinning him against the bookcase.

"You're so full of it, Snart." Barry was angry, his face twisting in fury, and he took Leonard by the shoulders to shake him and push him against the bookcase again. "You're acting like this wasn't real, but it _was_. I remember what you looked like when we were alone, how you touched me. Like… like I was special. You can't be that good an actor."

"What do you want me to say, Barry?" Leonard tensed beneath Barry's hands, and for a second, he was so angry he was dizzy with it. "It doesn't matter how I feel, so why should I bother? What do you want from me?"

"I want you to change it back!" Barry made a small, pained noise, and then he grabbed a fistful of Leonard's shirt, pulling him in for a hard, desperate kiss. Leonard could feel his teeth cut into his lip, the copper of blood on his tongue, and then Barry's mouth softened, parted enough to suck Leonard's bruised and bleeding lip. It sent prickles of sensation down Leonard's spine, and he trembled as he raised his right hand. He ghosted his fingers over Barry's cheek and sank his hand into Barry's hair, clenching hard as he kissed Barry back. He was furious and wanted to take, but it was Barry who slid his tongue into Leonard's mouth, Barry who made a pained and frustrated sound, like nothing was what he wanted. Their mouths made a slick sound when they parted, and Leonard couldn't move, still pinned by Barry's hands.

"I can't. I'm sorry." Leonard swallowed, staring at the cuff of Barry's sleeve, unable to bring himself to look Barry in the face again.

"I loved you so much," Barry whispered, voice raw. "You stole it from of us."

Leonard gritted his teeth in frustration. Barry was being intentionally obtuse—whatever had been between them had been an illusion. Someday, Barry would understand. Maybe someday, Leonard would be able to forget.

"Do whatever you need to do," Leonard said. "Fight something. Hug your friends. Therapy. Forget about what you think was real. It wasn't."

"Why can't it be?" Barry asked, but Leonard could tell it wasn't a question for him. "Why can't I just make myself feel this again?"

"You're chasing a high you can't feel any more, kid." Leonard slumped against the bookcase, wiping at his mouth.

Barry lowered his eyes and stepped back, releasing his grip on Leonard. He rubbed at his face, smearing fresh tears across his cheek. "Are you still going to help us fight Zoom?"

The question hurt, but Leonard still managed to smirk. "What do you think?"

A storm of emotions crossed Barry's face: anger, maybe disappointment, and he shook his head, flashing out of Leonard's apartment a second later.

Leonard closed his eyes, swallowed, and counted to ten. Then he turned to his bookcase and made sure every book on the shelf was packed neatly in its box before he sat down on the edge of the couch, gripping the couch arm so tightly he couldn't feel his right hand.

~*~

Leonard had just shrugged into his parka when he heard a key at the door and paused, hovering his hand over his cold gun in its holster. The door opened, and he saw a long fall of dark hair, the sleeve of a leather jacket. "Forget something?"

Lisa jumped and then swore, peeking around the door to glare at Leonard. "You could have told me you were back in town, asshole."

Leonard stared at her as she slipped inside and closed the door. "Where's the fun in that?"

"The fun is the part where I'm not worried sick about you." Lisa gave Leonard a pointed look, and then she set her hands on her hips, looking around at the empty walls, the stacked and labeled boxes, Leonard in his Cold gear. "Lenny, what's going on?"

Leonard looked away, focusing on one of the paintings leaned against the wall. "I was going to call you."

"Of course you were," Lisa nodded. "But you're ignoring the question. Is everything okay? Mick didn't set himself on fire again, did he?"

Leonard huffed a laugh, relaxing and letting his hand fall away from his gun. "No, Mick's fine." He inclined his head. "I'm just breaking one of my rules. Kinda hoped you wouldn't find out about it."

Lisa arched her eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest. "Breaking one of your—" Her eyes widened, and she gave Leonard the smarmiest grin he'd ever seen on her face. "Lenny, are you doing pro bono work?"

"This thing"—Leonard gestured at Lisa's entire face—"don't do that."

Lisa scowled. "That wasn't funny when I was nine, and it's not funny now. Seriously, though, if you're doing a score, I want in. You always keep me away from the best stuff."

"That's because you aren't interested in the best stuff," Leonard said, his mouth tightening in annoyance. "You're interested in the dangerous stuff."

"Same thing." Lisa perched on the arm of the couch and gave him a long look. "Spill, Lenny. Your apartment, the costume. Come on."

Leonard averted his eyes. "I'm leaving my apartment because the Flash knows where I live."

Lisa's eyebrows climbed again. "And how does he know that? You have four different safe houses, and he knows where your apartment is?"

"It doesn't matter how he knows," Leonard said. "What matters is the clean up."

Lisa raised her hands in surrender, conceding the point. "Okay. And you're dressed up as Captain Cold, why?"

Leonard hesitated for just a second. "Because I owe him."

Leonard knew she was waiting for him to say more, but he couldn't, the visit from earlier still sitting too raw in his chest. She tapped her fingernails on the arm of the sofa and then gave him a pointed look. "You told me you were even. You didn't have any markers left for him to cash in."

"Yeah, well." Leonard shrugged. "Things change, Lise."

Lisa nodded, a short, agreeable bob of her head. "So what's the plan?"

"I'm going to kill Zoom." 

Lisa inhaled sharply at that and then promptly started choking, waving Leonard away while she caught her breath. "I'm sorry," she said after a minute, "I thought I just heard you say you were going to kill a homicidal speedster maniac."

Leonard looked away. "You heard right."

Lisa stared at the empty bookcase behind Leonard and then at the painting Leonard couldn't stop staring at, the one she'd stolen for him years ago. "Okay. Let's do this. You can fill me in on the way."

"No," Leonard said immediately. "Absolutely not."

"I don't think you have much of a choice here, Lenny. You want to go kill Zoom because of some crazy honor thing you have with the Flash? Fine. Sounds like fun. But you're sure as hell not going in there alone, not when I'm the only one you can trust to cover your back."

"You just want to see Cisco again," Leonard teased, his face softening as he looked at his pain in the ass sister.

"You got me." Lisa shrugged, a grin curling the corner of her mouth. "I love flirting with him. He's just so fun." Her eyes lit up. "Speaking of flirting, how are things with your—"

"Done. It's over."

"Oh." Lisa's mouth pulled into a sympathetic frown. "It was for the best, anyway. He didn't have any bite."

Leonard shook his head. "Stop. Let's go kill ourselves a speedster."

Lisa grinned and pushed away from the couch. "Sounds like my kind of night."

They took Lisa's Camaro instead of Leonard's bike, and he filled her in on the plan: six cold mines, three speedsters, three parks, one _psychopath_ speedster. Barry was, theoretically, making a stand at the Gregory J. Carter park, past the river, so that was where Leonard chose to make his stand. They got radios from Lisa's trunk, and Leonard tuned in to the frequency Barry and his team had been using before, when he'd listened in on their missions. They were still using it, and it was unencrypted—it almost hurt Leonard, how unprepared they were. He and Lisa took shelter in the trees, and then he gave her a short nod and worked his way from cover to cover until they had the majority of the park field between them.

Barry appeared in a zip of yellow lightning, in his costume, and he turned around in a slow circle, taking everything in. "I'm still not seeing him," Barry said over his speaker. "I don't think he's coming tonight."

"Good." That was Harrison, his voice tight and annoyed as always. "We should abort and think up a new plan. We're at a disadvantage without Snart's cold gun."

"You're sure he's not gonna come?" Wally, his voice a little crackly from the distance. If they were following Leonard's plan, Wally would be at Forest Park, several miles south. "Snart seemed like a chill dude—"

"I said he's not coming, okay?" Barry snapped. "There's no waiting. There's no better time. We either do this, or we don't—"

There was a an afterimage of blue lightning through the trees, and Barry went flying, landing hard on his back.

"Zoom is here!" West, this time, and Leonard could see him break cover, pulling out his gun. "I repeat, Zoom is here. Converge on our location ASAP!" West pulled the trigger three times, but Zoom dodged them so fast West might as well have been shooting blanks. Barry made his way back into the fray, taking the brunt of Zoom's attention, and Leonard could tell with every grunt how many hits Barry was taking, trying to buy time for the rest of his team to get there.

Damned kid. He _would_ go into a trap with West as his only backup. It was a miracle he had survived this long. 

Leonard took in the entire scene. West had to have the mines. They had all agreed that the speedsters would be the ones to carry the serum, and Barry needed the distraction to pull Zoom's attention. 

Leonard pulled the trigger on his cold gun. "Flash." The sound of his voice on the radio made the chatter go quiet. "Hit the ground."

Barry hit the ground without question, leaving Zoom vibrating in place for barely a second, just enough time for the beam of cold to strike him. He roared with pain, and Leonard heard the whirr of Lisa's gun on the other side, painting Zoom gold from head to toe. Their guns were fully charged, and Leonard didn't feel the need to let up on his trigger, even as the extended use of the gun chilled the metal, numbing his hand. Zoom was frozen in place, the cold slowing him down as they had hoped it would and breaking his concentration just enough that he was having trouble vibrating through Lisa's gold substance.

Leonard and Lisa circled him, the two beams at full power, and in the glare from his gun, Leonard could see West, his mouth slack with shock, half open, and Barry, still at Zoom's feet, scrabbling for the serum. He jammed the needle into Zoom's leg and then sped away, out of Zoom's immediate reach, vibrating and ready for any move Zoom might have made. Leonard was pleased Barry chose to stay out of the way, because he was tired of playing nice, and Zoom presented the perfect target.

Zoom's costume started to crystalize, ice forming over his costume, over the hardened gold that Lisa's gun left in its wake, and Leonard didn't spare a glance at West as he held out his left hand. "Now would be a good time for those mines."

"We've got two," Barry said, and he flashed between Leonard and West, setting one of the mines in Leonard's hand. It was heavy, gleaming in the low light, and Leonard loved it immediately, wishing he had more time to appreciate the design.

"Here's what I need you do do, Scarlet." Leonard spoke fast and low into the radio as Zoom howled, his claws vibrating, shattering through the ice and gold. "Activate the second one. Attach it to Zoom's chest and then get Lisa and West the hell out of here."

"Len—"

"Do it."

Zoom tore through another layer of their attack as Barry zipped away. It was incredible, the amount of punishment a speedster could take. It was easy to figure out how to activate the mine—simplicity of design was one of the best things about Cisco's creations. 

Leonard propped the mine against his leg as he activated it, wishing he had at least three hands, and then he stepped closer. Firing his gun at such close range _hurt_ , and he could see ice forming over his glare goggles, feel pinpricks of pain and numbness in his cheek. He ignored it and took another step forward, finally within reach of Zoom. He shoved the active mine against the center of Zoom's back, feeling it click and whirr as it clung in place, and then he let up on the trigger of his gun, whipping around to run.

He felt arms around him, and his feet lost traction as he slid across the grass. With the exception of the time Zoom had kidnapped him, Leonard had only felt superspeed safely in Barry's arms, with his head and face protected, and feeling it now, facing outward, was a completely wild and new experience. He heard the beep of the mine from somewhere behind him and then a low, teeth-rattling _boom_. Leonard hit the ground face first, grunting when his broken hand hit the grass. Leonard spat, trying to get the taste of dirt and grass from his mouth, and glared at Barry—of course it was Barry. He couldn't follow instructions for the life of him—before he turned back. He looked first for Lisa, his breath coming easier when she saw him looking and waved, standing next to Wally and Cisco. Jay, with Wells and Joe, stood near the treeline, and Zoom…

Zoom looked like an ice sculpture, jagged and unfinished and frozen solid.

Leonard stood and limped—he must have pulled a muscle, but he was shaking with so much adrenaline he couldn't feel it—over to Zoom, staring up at him. His face was twisted in a frozen rictus of pain and rage, and the mines had worked exactly the way Leonard had hoped, leaving Zoom pinned and impaled between the two. Leonard paused for a moment in consideration and then raised his cold gun. He brought the grip down on Zoom's arm with all his strength and heard a loud crack, like ice snapping a weighted branch. Zoom's arm fell to the ground, frozen, meat-red ice crystals scattering across the grass.

The sound was so immediately and intensely satisfying that Leonard wanted to do it again, so he stalked in front of Zoom, jaw set as he glared at him from the privacy of his goggles. Leonard raised his hand again and smashed the butt of his gun directly into Zoom's face, pulverizing the mask and the flesh and bone behind it. Accelerated healing or not, Zoom wasn't going to come back from what he and Lisa had done to him.

It was only when Leonard was yanked back that he even realized Barry was talking, Barry's hand curled around Leonard's chest and physically hauling him back. "Damn it, Len, stop!"

"Get off of me." Leonard shrugged Barry off, pushing him away. He brushed splinters of bone and ice off the grip of his gun and holstered it. 

"You did it," Wells said, and the open admiration in his normally closed and annoyed face made Leonard uncomfortable. "Zoom's dead."

"As far as we know," Leonard agreed. "Let's make sure he stays that way."

Wells nodded and squeezed Leonard's shoulder. "Thank you. You saved my city." He smiled, a small, genuine thing. "And with Zoom out of commission, I can use the metahumans that were under his control to find my daughter."

Leonard hesitated. "I didn't know."

Wells shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I can take it from here."

"Right." Leonard gave a short nod and turned to Lisa, who was chatting up Cisco, a sultry smile on her face. "Let's go, Lise."

Lisa pouted and blew Cisco a kiss. "Bye, Cisco." She tossed her hair as she sauntered away from him.

That left only one thing. Leonard took a breath to steel himself and turned toward Barry.

Barry's hands were calm and relaxed at his sides, his body still and alert, and it made Leonard think of all the small twitches, the jerks, the gestures that Barry made when out of the costume. Barry took a step closer, his eyes flitting from Len to Lisa, and then back again. "I didn't think you'd come."

"I know." Leonard was very aware of Lisa as she stepped up to take her place at his side, her sharp, assessing eyes.

"Len, do you think... I don't know." Barry shrugged. "You ever think we'll be able to talk this out?"

"Okay, no." Lisa shook her head and stepped between them, glaring at Barry. "Just no. What's wrong with you? I mean, not to break up the creepy Romeo and Juliet vibes you're emanating, but there's really only three things you need to worry about." She held up one finger. "One, he's not Lenny to you. He's Captain Cold. And don't you forget it. Two"—A second finger—"whatever favor he thinks he owes you? It's done. Cashed in. Don't ask for anything else. Three"—Lisa's eyes went hard and cold, and she drew her gold gun, pointing it at Barry—"Captain Cold and Golden Glider just killed your psychopathic evil speedster, and I can't tell you how excited I'd be to do a repeat performance."

"Lisa. Drop it." Lisa pouted at Leonard's words and holstered her gun.

"Len's got a soft spot for you, Flash," Lisa said, one final warning. "I don't."

Leonard grabbed her shoulder with his right hand and pivoted her away.

No one followed them.

Leonard considered that a win.

~*~

Lisa drove them to her apartment instead of Leonard's. He couldn't fault the decision, since his place was mostly packed up and Lisa would most likely want a glass of wine to unwind.

"So you're going to tell me what that was all about, right?" Lisa asked once they were situated on her couch. She'd gotten them both beers instead of wine, and Leonard rolled his bottle between his palms.

"Yeah," he said, and then he told her everything—how he and Mick had been forced by the Flash and the Arrow into joining a team of time-traveling anti-heroes, about the things he'd stolen, the people he'd helped. He talked about Barry Allen, leaving out the fact that he was the Flash, because that agreement was still in effect. He talked about the existence of magic, how he'd met himself in the past and the present, how he'd ended up working with Team Flash to end the threat of Zoom. 

By the time he finished, they'd finished their second beers, and Lisa was giving him a look of sheer annoyance. She reached out and kicked at his thigh. "You mean to tell me that you and Mick have been running around through time fighting dinosaurs and an immortal creeper who can't take no for an answer, and you didn't invite me?"

Leonard rested his hand on Lisa's leg and squeezed her ankle. "I wanted to keep you safe."

"I'm safer with you and Mick than I am on my own, right?" Lisa gave a brilliant smile. "When are they coming back? I'm coming with you."

"Six days," Leonard said dryly. "And I don't have any control over who joins us."

Lisa rolled her eyes. "I'm coming with you. You've got an open spot on your exclusive team, and I want in."

Leonard stared at Lisa for a long minute, and was deeply, quietly grateful for her. He had spent so long alone, focused so much of his time on Barry that he'd forgotten what it was like to be with someone he trusted. Mick, Sara, Kendra—they would all be back in a matter of days. The knot of emotions he'd been carrying in his chest for the last week loosened, and he smiled, small and lopsided. "I love you, Lise."

Lisa snorted, but her eyes were warm with affection. "Stop being so emotional, Lenny. You're just embarrassing us both."

~*~

Leonard spent the last few days putting everything in his apartment into storage. Lisa helped and then packed a bag to take with her on the Waverider—her tools, her licenses, her favorite pair of sparkly blue heels, and she peppered Leonard with questions about his teammates, what they were like, the kinds of things they did, who she should charm first in order to cement her place. It was a distraction. It was even kind of funny, and Leonard was grateful.

When the time came, they took a taxi out to the spot where he'd agreed to meet Waverider. Leonard kept an eye on Lisa when Waverider uncloaked, and she didn't disappoint, her eyes going wide and round. She caught Leonard looking at her and beamed a smile, and it was so unusual that it made Leonard huff a small laugh. She cleared her throat and straightened when the ramp descended, and Leonard could see her hand trembling on the handle of her luggage.

Hunter, waiting in the entrance, looked Leonard over before glancing at Lisa. "It seems you've made your decision."

Leonard nodded. "I'm all yours, Hunter." 

"And this is?"

Lisa turned a brilliant smile on Hunter. "Lisa Snart. I heard you have an opening, so… is there an audition or do I just volunteer?" Hunter turned around and headed into Waverider, his coat flapping behind him. Leonard and Lisa shared a look and then followed.

"Gideon?"

"Yes, Captain?" Lisa covered her mouth when she heard the voice of the AI, and Leonard smirked at her.

"Is there a danger to the timeline if Miss Snart joins us?"

"There are no deviations to the timeline."

That seemed to be enough for Hunter, who turned back to Leonard and Lisa. "Welcome aboard the Waverider, Miss Snart."

"Call me Lisa." Lisa gave another charming smile, a habit Leonard knew she'd stop as soon as she got comfortable, and then they were in the ship proper, the others still unbuckling from their travel.

"Lisa!" Mick bellowed in delight.

Lisa shook her head before going over to him and giving him an affectionate punch in the shoulder. "Looks like time travel agrees with you, big guy."

Mick looked over at Leonard, who trailed in after Lisa, and narrowed his eyes, his thick eyebrows knitting together. Mick wasn't that smart when fire was involved, but he'd known Leonard long enough to know when something was wrong, and Leonard didn't feel like talking.

Sara nodded at Leonard and then looked at his hand. "Looks like you had a rough couple of months."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." 

Leonard made his way to the medbay so Gideon could heal him and he would finally get the itchy, frustrating splint off. It was a quick fix, a few minutes under some light, and Leonard felt immediately better, flexing his fingers and rubbing at his wrist. The minor injuries he'd gotten fighting Zoom, the small patch of frostbite on his face, were all gone in seconds. 

"Thanks, Gideon."

"You're welcome, Mr. Snart. It's good to have you back."

"Liar," Leonard said, and he couldn't help conflating this Gideon with the Gideon computer that had helped him out during his time casing Zoom. "I was only gone a couple of minutes."

"I am incapable of lying, Mr. Snart." 

Leonard laughed at that and shook his head. "Thanks." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mick fill the doorway, and Leonard went still.

Mick came to the bedside and kicked at something on the floor before he hazarded a look at Leonard. "You okay, boss?"

Leonard nodded, short and efficient. "I'm okay."

Mick patted Leonard's shoulder with one beefy hand. "Just let me know who needs to burn. I've got your back."

Leonard bumped shoulders with Mick, just a second of contact, and then stood, taking the lead and making his way out into the cockpit again, where he could hear Lisa's voice. "I hear you have a whole bloodlust thing," Lisa said, obviously chatting with Sara. "Have you tried transcendental meditation or tantric sex or—"

"One of you was bad enough," Sara groaned, and it made Leonard smile.

"Mr. Snart." Hunter drew him up short, and Leonard gave Mick a nod, letting him go on ahead. "A word?"

"You want something?" Leonard asked.

Hunter's eyes were full of a deep, uncomfortable sympathy, and it made Leonard feel itchy inside, full of directionless, nervous energy. "History is proceeding apace. Whatever it was that caused the temporal flux is over. I thought you might like to know."

Of course it was over. It had been Leonard all along. Still, he nodded.

"One last piece of advice, if I may?" Leonard shot Hunter a hard, suspicious look, but when Leonard didn't say anything, Hunter continued. "Do yourself a favor. Don't use Gideon to keep track of Barry Allen. It would be better for you both." Hunter clasped Leonard's shoulder, and Leonard shrugged him off, stepping out of his way.

"I got it." Leonard watched Hunter leave the corridor and then took a deep breath. Not thinking about Barry Allen would be impossible. He had to take the easy way out. "Gideon?"

"Yes, Mr. Snart?"

"Withhold all information about Barry Allen from me unless it's required for the mission." It was a small step, something he could easily circumvent when off the ship, but at least it was a step.

"Understood."

With that, Leonard walked forward, out of the corridor and into the room where his teammates were still sitting.

"So," Kendra asked, "are you coming or going?"

Leonard smirked. "I'm staying. You guys need all the help you can get."

Mick held out his hand. Scowling, Sara slapped a twenty into his palm. "I really thought that baby cop of yours would make you stay." 

"Len doesn't go in for that kind of bullshit," Mick said, giving Leonard a weighty look. "He's Captain Cold for a reason."

"All right, everyone." Hunter strode to the pilot's seat, strapping himself in. "Get settled. We're going to 1986."

"This is so damned cool," Lisa muttered to herself as Leonard took the seat next to her, and everyone settled in for the jump. t had been so long for Leonard that strapping in for a time jump felt brand new again.

The past, the present—it didn't matter where they went. Leonard just needed to be away from here.

~*~  
fin

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Linger](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11117655) by [UsagiKobo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UsagiKobo/pseuds/UsagiKobo)




End file.
